Due to hit store shelves during the 2007 holiday season, Guild Wars: Eye of the North will require at least one of the previous Guild Wars campaigns (Prophecies™, Factions™, or Nightfall™) in order to play. It’s a game that will benefit long-time players of the Guild Wars games, with all of the content targeting existing Guild Wars characters.
“We felt it was extremely important to reward those people who have been playing Guild Wars since the game first launched in 2005,” said Jeff Strain, co-founder of ArenaNet. “Those players have seen three very large campaigns created in a little under two years and so we think it’s time to begin filling in the details of the existing world and to provide more content for current characters. We are thrilled to focus our time on something that our players have been asking for.”
As the story of this expansion unfolds, players will delve into eighteen vast dungeons to face untold enemies, search for clues about the menace facing the world, and uncover new weapons they can use in the final confrontation. These immersive, multi-level dungeons will take characters deep beneath the earth and expose them to challenges the likes of which have never been seen in any Guild Wars game to date.
Heroes are born in the crucible of conflict and tempered in the flames of battle. Their deeds shine throughout history as a beacon of hope to those who must rise to defend the world in ages to come, becoming part of the legend of the land. The legends forged within Prophecies, Factions, Nightfall, and the Eye of the North will not be forgotten in the future world of Guild Wars 2.
Your deeds from the original Guild Wars campaigns will be commemorated in the Eye of the North expansion in your Hall of Monuments. The Hall of Monuments will reflect the achievements you earn in Eye of the North as well as those earned in Prophecies, Factions, and Nightfall. You will even be able to show off your hall to friends. Then, when Guild Wars 2 arrives, each of these monuments will correspond to special features your Guild Wars 2 characters can "inherit" from your own legendary past, giving you access to exclusive titles, companions (Heroes and pets), weapons, attire, and miniatures. These inherited items are unique: there is no other way within Guild Wars 2 to acquire them.
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Guild Wars: Eye of the North Features :
- Reveals what happened in Tyria after the end of Guild Wars: Prophecies
- Introduces the Norn and Asura, which you can enlist as Heroes
- Primarily set in the dungeons and caverns north of Ascalon
- 100% max-level content
- The Hall of Monuments - Provides access to exclusive Guild Wars titles, companions, miniatures (mini-pets), armor, and weapons that are not obtainable in Guild Wars 2
- 18 new multi-level dungeons
- 150 new skills across all ten Guild Wars professions, of which 50 are special PvE-only skills
- 10 new Heroes
- 40 new armor sets across all ten Guild Wars professions
Set largely in the dungeons and caverns of the lands of Tyria that players first explored in Guild Wars Prophecies, Guild Wars: Eye of the North will have 18 large, multi-level dungeons, 150 new skills across all 10 Guild Wars professions, 10 new Heroes, 40 new armor sets, and even more items, weapons and titles.
And for those looking even further down the road at Guild Wars 2, Guild Wars: Eye of the North will provide a Hall of Monuments where players' accomplishments are memorialized and eventually inherited by their Guild Wars 2 characters, unlocking exclusive items and bonuses in Guild Wars 2.
“It’s the payoff we hope players will appreciate as we continue to build on the Guild Wars franchise,” said Strain. “We’re excited to announce these two new products and we want players to know that Guild Wars has an extremely exciting future in the months and years ahead.”
Guild Wars 2 Features
- Persistent world
- Zone-wide events
- Direct character control, with jumping and more freedom of movement, and increased environmental interaction
- Enhanced graphics engine
- Refined, action-oriented skill system
- "Return to Tyria," hundreds of years after the events of Guild Wars Prophecies
- New playable races, including Humans, Charr, Norn, Asura, and Sylvari
- Enhanced character progression system with high level cap
- Companions