Guild Wars: Eye of the North - Sneak Peak Weekend First impressions.

Well, I took part in the Sneak Peak event just over a week ago, and thought maybe I should jot down my impressions of the expansion pack for those that didn't take part.
First off, GW:EN is the first true expansion pack for Guild Wars, the previous "expansions" have been stand alone games which didn't require you to already have GW installed. This new expansion is not standalone, and is only open to Level 20 characters.
The initial plot has earthquakes occuring in the various entry cities (Lions Arch, Kamadan, Kaineng Centre) and silvery coloured Oozes and Rats fleeing the sewers and into the towns (you'll see these things buzzing around in town even now). A mission giver will tell of a chasm opening up outside of town and off you go to investigate. I don't know how this goes from the other entry towns, as I only went through from Lions Arch, but once you find the chasm, less than a 5 minute walk from town, you'll gain entry to Below Lions Arch. Down here you'll meet up with a few undead creatures (Hellhounds, Undead Monks and Sorcerors) before stumbling across a bunch of dwarves and a single floppy eared Asura (you may have seen Asura mini-pets already in town) named Vekk who seems to be voiced by Brain from Pinky and the Brain.
A vicious enemy, the imaginatively named "Destroyers", are rapidly introduced and you are sent fleeing to some sort of warp gate which takes you away from (immediate) harm, and into the new area in the far north Shiverpeaks.
The plot from here seems to involve getting support from the three races found in the North to face the Destroyers. The three races are the Norn (a race of agressive humanlike people who's only difference from the humans is their large size and ability to transform into bears), the Asura (a small race of creatures who apparently know alot about the warp gates, and originally driven from their homelands by the Destroyers some time ago), and some human refugees from the fall of Ascalon.
During the Sneak Peak weekend, only the Norn related quests were open, and these proved to be good fun. I found the rewards gained in killing creatures and fighting the Norn I met to be alot more engaging than the previous installments of GW, and got me fighting everything I could, rather than avoiding combat to save time getting to new areas, and in the 2 days I played (no more than 10 hours I'd say) I picked up a couple of new skills and a new title on the Norn title track (Slayer of Imps).
Story-wise, it was great seeing Gwen, the little girl we met just outside Pre-Searing Ascalon, alive and well and leading the human outpost, perhaps here I'll find a use for the broken flute and preserved Red lily I've been carrying for the last year and a half. When I saw her, I actually had them in my inventory and got a "I can't believe you kept that all this time" comment, but ot much more. Perhaps they'll come into play later.
The various Norn that you meet at the spawn points and also the collectors, can all be fought, and should be too, in order to gain reputation among the Norn and more information. Also, after killing numerous enemies, it is worth checking in with each Norn you can find to raise your reputation further. For some reason, I actually found this to be a nice touch, and it actually made it feel like I was getting somewhere rather than randomly being allocated a new rank every now and then.
Pretty much everything else is as it was in the earlier installments, you can gain heroes (in fact the first dwarf and Asura that I met under Lions Arch joined me immediately) as in Nightfall etc, but there doesn't seem to be any new mechanics to learn this time round. The plot thus far seems quite engaging, as it has in all previous installments, but I've found thus far that the plots seem to get more and more disjointed as I play through the game, but that perhaps is down to me rather than the game.
In short, if you liked the other GW installments have got bored with or finished them, and you've got some spare cash to throw at it, go get it, I doubt you'll be disappointed.
The price listed on the PlayNC store online is £24.99, 5 quid cheaper than Nightfall is currently retailing on the same site. There's an alternative of buying Guild Wars Platinum though which contains the original game plus the Eye of The North exansion for £34.99, which is a good deal I guess if you don't have the original Prophecies campaign.

Sneek Peak Weekend - 24th-27th

The new Eye of the North expansion (GW:EN, an auspicious acronym it has been revealed) is being previewed this weekend for those that have put down their cash for the pre-order.
you can find out more info here.
I'm up for a bit of a session here, so if anyone is keen for a run this weekend, either post here or e-mail me.

Cheers.
CodeMonkey

Longtime no post.

Things have been a little quite on the posting front, so I thought I'd bash out a quick post. For those who don't keep up with the news, there's a mission pack called "Eye of the North" being released soon. It's available for pre-order now at the ridiculous price of £3.49. Pre-ordering gives you access to the weekend preview on the 24th of August. This seems too cheap to me, and I suspect that I've just coughed up money for the privilege of being able to access the sneak-peek weekend, not the actual mission pack... I'll let you know if I find out more.
I'd suggest a meeting that weekend to hit Eye of the North and see how much new stuff we can collect. Maybe on the Saturday or Sunday morning (British time).
I'll try to make myself available.

For those people in the Guild who wonder why they never see me online, it's because I live in Australia, and so am hitting the game servers when most of you guys are tucked up warm in bed. I'm seeking to remedy this by inviting a few Aussies and Kiwis into the Guild. You'll probably be able to pick the Kiwis out by the propensity to call everyone Bro'.

Cheers ears.

Guild Wars: Forum Topic: Unlocked Chests by Tribina on the GameAmp Network

Guild Wars: Forum Topic: Unlocked Chests by Tribina on the GameAmp Network

Family fun

Here you can see Guild Leader Lilith and her 2nd in command Amsorn posing in front of a massive statue. You can see Amsorn was a bit peckish and took a nibble out off the leg of the statue, sadly it fell over after this, sorry.

Just after the calamitous event we were able to meet up with Sariss who rather kindly gave us 15 attribute points each, hurrah. Not bad for a snake man really, it saved us having to mug him!

Ok here is the family outing to Kessex Peak, after killing Galrath and his minions we picnicked in front of this lovely floating castle, one day we hope to buy this for our property portfolio.

You can see Amsorn with his dodgy helmet on the left, Aryan lurking in the rear (favourite position)and the mighty Lilith front and centre.

Allow me to Introduce - The Erizan Clan.

Here we have 3 fine upstanding members of the Erizan family, Chareeth the Elementalist/Monk on the left from Ascalon, Kim the Assassin/Ritualist in the middle from Cantha and Jingo the Dervish/Necromancer on the right from Elona. Chareeth is my main character, level 20 now, with Kim coming up close behind (as is fitting for an Assassin) at level 18. Jingo is a relative newcomer at level 9, and still on the newbie island.
Chareeth is mainly devoted to pyromancy and likes nothing better than to sit by side of a nicely burning Jungle Troll of an evening, singing campfire songs. In Cantha though, Chareeth has had to expand his repertoire to include some geomancy spells as a number of the enemies there seem to be covered with some sort of fire retardant material.
Kim, as an assassin likes stabbing things repeatedly, poisoning creatures and retreating to a safe distance to watch them turn green and fall over. She's currently saving up for some max armour to help stop her targets fighting back.
Jingo doesn't get out much and is still cruising around the newbie island chopping up plants and skales. Currently she's working to infiltrate some bizarre cult on the island and killing harpies. She had an unfortunate incident at birth which has resulted in her having a head of nasty looking straw coloured hair, as a result she'll never take of her hood.
And there you have it, the Erizan clan.

Lillith is One!!

Lillith made it to the big 1 on Friday. That's right Lillith Darkholm has been in existence for one year. The lovely people at Guild Wars gave her a present and it turned out to be this little fellow. He is a Mini Jungle Troll and I'm thinking of calling him Fish-Lips. This may sound like a strange name for a Jungle Troll but when he wanders off in Lions Arch or The Sunspear Sanctuary I can go up to people and ask "Have you seen my Fish-Lips?? Failing that I was thinking of Dave.

Birthday Treats

If any of you managed to collect any birthday cakes this weekend (and there's probably still time on Monday to get some) then save them. As they give you movement bonuses and higher hit points and energy, I think it would be wise to save them for Droknars Run in a few weeks.

I managed to snag 1 birthday cake, and have enough victory tokens to buy another thanks to playing "Tag the Hatchling" on the Shing Jea boardwalk, so I've got a spare if needed.

I'll try and get my characters intro up this week before I go away, no promises though. I'm a lazy feck in case it hasn't been noticed yet. :)

Guild of Domination

You may have noticed some slight changes since yesterday, Lilith has led a glorious guild to new heights, we have now entered into a formal alliance with nine other guilds. The lead guild is called Guild of Domination and the have a web site www.guildofdomination.nl, it is worth a look and more specifically it has been request that all officers register on their forum.

There are some changes in game as well, you will notice our faction has hit 350k + this is because all the guild alliance points gets pooled together, game wise this doesn't add much for those of you without Factions, and i think it needs to get higher before those with factions will notice any different (please comment if you know more details).

On the guild screen (pressing G) you can now see the other guilds and their contributions and for a small guild i think we are doing fine. On this screen you will also be able to enter the guild halls of the other guilds, most of them seem to have all the additions (trainers, various merchants etc.).
You will also notice gold text appearing in the speech area, this is alliance chat, from what i have seen they all seem to be very friendly, in fact this seems to be the main rule on the forum 'BE NICE' which i know is no problem for us!

Any way enjoy the game and see you all soon

Gob

TUIRA DARTHLIN a introduction

Whats In A Name

As you will know if you have read my Introduction I (Lilltih Darkholm) did not name or create the guild but inherited it. So I thought it would be interesting to see if I could find out where Masters Of Puppeteers name came from the best I can come up with is:

Muze Annotations

In famine-stricken 18th century Japan, a 13-year-old boy named Jiro, the clumsy son of a poor puppet maker, becomes the apprentice to Yoshida, the master of the Hanza Puppet Theater. As Jiro works to learn the art of puppeteering, he must also strive to please the seldom-satisfied Yoshida. Jiro's work is disrupted, however, when he sets out to discover the true identity of Sabru, the mysterious thief who robs from the rich and gives to the poor--and who seems to have some sort of connection to the Hanza Theater. Will Jiro's investigation put his life, and the lives of the others at the Hanza Theater, in danger? This work of historical fiction includes detailed information about Japanese theater as well as about life and culture in 18th Japan.

Publisher's Notes

Who is the man called Sabura, the mysterious bandit who robs the rich and helps the poor? And what is his connection with Yosida, the harsh and ill- tempered master of feudal Japan's most famous puppet theater? Young Jiro, an apprentice to Yosida, is determined to find out, even at risk to his own life. Meamwhile, Jiro devotes himself to learning puppetry. Kinshi, the puppet master's son, tutors him. When his sheltered life at the theater is shattered by mobs of hungry, rioting peasants, Jiro becomes aware of responsibilities greater that his craft. As he schemes to help his friend Kinshi and to find his own parent, Jiro stumbles onto a dangerous and powerful secret..

Synopses

A thirteen-year-old boy describes the poverty and discontent of eighteenth century Osaka and the world of puppeteers in which he lives.

Reviews

"...An extraordinarily well written and compelling novel, filled with detail."

OR

Neil Gallagher found the secret to Toulon's puppets who come to life and then killed himself. Alex and his psychic friends come to investigate and are stalked by Toulon's puppets who have a variety of strange traits including a drill for a head and the ability to spit up leeches.

André Toulon is a puppet maker and the best of the kind. One day he happens upon an old Egyptian formula able to create life, so he decides to give life to his puppets. The Nazis seek to use this knowledge to their advantage and in desperation, Toulon commits suicide. Some years later four psychics get on the trail of a former colleague who suddenly commits suicide, and they decide to investigate the mansion he killed himself in. Along with his widow, they uncover the secrets of the Puppet Master.

Puppet maker Andre Toulon shoots himself at the Bodega Bay Inn before his Secret of Life can be stolen by the Nazis. 50 years later in 1989 the secret is discovered by Neil Gallagher. Soon he sends messages to his psychic friends Alex Whitaker, Dana Hadley, Frank Forrester and Carissa Stamford who arrive to find his wife Megan who claims Neil to be dead. As the night goes by, the murderous puppets are awakened and unleashed on the group, only for them to discover that evil comes in all sizes.

Best I can do. If you have any other Idea I would be grateful for the input.

Doc Curses

Mistress of the Puppeteers

Well, as two of my Officers have taken the time out of their busy lives to either set up this delightful BLOG or post a blog themselves I thought, as Guild Mistress, it was about time I got my finger out and did the same.

My Name is Lillith Darkholm, I was born in Tyria, a Year ago today and have travelled around 80% of my home land. I have also enjoyed jaunts to deserts of Elona and the warren of streets and alleys that make up Cantha. I enjoy questing alone or with Amsorn Redstorm, Chareeth Erizan or the other officers of the guild. I also Love to beat up on the Luxons and have a hankering for a guild battle.

My interests include:

Raising the Dead, Designing Capes, Travel, Monitoring the Guild, My pet Wolf Spunky, Origami and Dancing the Monster Mash.

I share the views of Amsorn Redstorm when it comes to new members - I will be happy to help out either as a body guard, a runner, a bank or as a shop. For some reason I keep all the junk I salvage with no real reason other than to pass on to the needy.

As for the guild itself I can not take full credit for it. I was an Officer in the guild and then somehow inherited it and all that comes with it, including a well stocked Guild Hall, when everyone else left. As it turns out this was the turning point in my life. Left alone in a huge Guild Hall with on a Merchant and a Dye Trader to talk to can do things to a Girl.

So I pulled up my Fish-net Tights (As this was the fashion at the time) and went out and got level 20. Chareeth Erizan was a passing interest at the time but with the advent of Amsorn Redstorm, Chareeth joined the guild. Two other members soon followed - Turia Darthlin and Aryan Bloodlace. All four hold the rank of officer and as trusted guild members I am happy for them to recruit at will. However I rule with an Iron Fist and if you are not seen online in four weeks you will be evicted for the guild. I like to think of myself as harsh but fair.

The pic is of Me, Chareeth and Spunky back where it all began.

Remember "A guild that Plays together stays together."

Doc Curses

Things worth knowing.

I've put a few links on the right there which I consider to be useful, The Guild Wars site is pretty self explanatory, and the Guild Wiki is a solid source of information. The GameAmp site though, has some pretty useful things I just wanted to draw attention to.
First off, it has maps of Tyria, Elona and Cantha, which are invaluable. I've got the map of Tyria downloaded on my machine, and I load this up in Paint.Net (a free art package that's well worth downloading) before doing any exploring in that area. It makes finding specific locations a hell of a lot easier.
Secondly, it has listings of the missions, with explanations of what needs to be done to get the bonus for each one, and maps for some of them too. It's worth checking this out before you start a mission to make sure you aren't running around blindly, I tend to keep a browser window open while I'm playing so that I can tab back and forth to check my progress.
There's also a load of info about armour, skills etc etc.

Guild Wiki has a useful list of Builds and how to use them to get the most out of your characters offensive/defensive capabilities, as well as builds for specific missions. Builds, for those not in the know, are sets of skills chosen to work well together.

Two more things.
First if you fancy getting yourself a mini-pet, check this page out:-
http://www.guildwars.com/press/mediapartners.php
for details. Guild Wars recently announced that they are working on a proper expansion set for GW, as well as Guild Wars 2. To celebrate this, they are releasing mini-pets via certain magazines. PC Zone is the one in the UK (and is a damned good mag as well), and goes on sale today. So check the list, get a mag, and get your mini-pet.

Secondly, there's an event going on this weekend, as Guild Wars Prophecies celebrates it's second birthday, and Factions it's first birthday. Check out the Guild Wars site for details.

Laters
CodeMonkey

Well here he is, handsome, feisty and well brown.

Amsorn Redstorm, my warrior monk is my main character, he is a Tyrian by birth, but got fed up with the dust and filth of Ascalon, so he spends most of his time in Cantha and Elona.

I finally got my first title this weekend thanks to the double Sunspear points promotion, and I am now the loft rank of Sunspear Castellan, and well on my way to being a Spearmarshal.

I like to participate in Allaince Battles either on my own or with the guild (especially the mighty minion master Lilith) (have to be extra nice she is the guild leader!). I am also working my way through all three campaigns as and when the fancy takes me.

I am happy to play bodyguard for any of the up and coming members if they need help or advice, so just post me here and I will see if I can help. I also have loads of spare items and weapon upgrades if you want them , again just post me.

Looking forward to trying to reach Camp Rankor next week as I desperately want my first Elite skill (Battle Rage).

Catcha lata

Gobshite

Run to Camp Rankor

Well, as we found out last weekend, the run from Beacons Perch to Camp Rankor is a little bit on the tough side. If you can biggerise the map to the left you'll see marked with an X the point we got to after about 45 minutes of playing, barely a quarter of the journey to the next waypoint. Next time we go for this, we'll have to arrange to meet at a time when we can all be on for longer to complete the run. At the rate we were going, we'll probably need 2 hours or so to get there.

I might be available next weekend for a while, however, the weekend after that, I'll be flying to South America, and will definitely not be logging on to play for the next 3 weekends. The 26th/27th of May is the next time I'm likely to be free to play for a long period for this sort of run. Is anyone else keen to set a date for running to Camp Rankor? We can obviously talk about it closer to the time.

In other news, this weekend there are double Sunspear points available for those running in Elona, check the login page for details.

Catch yas all later!

CodeMonkey

UPDATE: More info on the "Droknar Run"
http://gw.gamewikis.org/wiki/Droknar_run
I can't believe that they reckon it'll only take 20 minutes to do it.

Masters of Puppeteers!

OK Guys,
I've just created a Blog type home page for the Masters of Puppeteers Guild Wars Guild. We'll be able to post pictures, news, events etc here whenever we want. I am your host CodeMonkey, AKA Chareeth/Kim/Jingo Erizan in Guild Wars.
The other guild captains can introduce themselves as and when they get their acts together and get Google accounts so I can add them as editors.

In the meantime, play nice!