The guild wars head north!

Towards the end of this year Guild Wars fans will be able to enjoy the release of a brand new expansion for their favorite game, entitled: Guild Wars: Eye of the North. Contrary to previous Guild Wars games this will be an actual expansion, which means it will require one of the previous chapters to be installed and will not feature solely content for max-level players. It might not feature as much new content as previous chapters (no new continents, less new skills, no new classes) but it'll also go for a lower price tag.

Some websites and forums have already featured some basic information on this game, but there hasn't really been any definitive source that compiled all this together into one article - until now. This preview will function as an overview of all the currently known information regarding Guild Wars: Eye of the North, based on various interviews, dev posts and extensive magazine articles. If you wanted to know what all the fuss is about - this is where you'll find the information you need.

Update: A load of Guild Wars: Eye of the North screenshots, artwork & renders can be found here. The screenshots used in this article are from Guild Wars: Factions.



Eye of the North will tie an end to the storyline originally started with the Prophecies campaign and serve as a prelude for the future world of Guild Wars 2. As such players return to the continent of Tyria once more, albeit slightly further northward. EotN will introduce several new areas throughout it's three acts spanning campaign, including the Charr homeland - reminiscent of pre-searing Ascalon - massive underground tunnel systems, the Tarnished Coast and the Far Shiverpeaks.
    As players progress they will encounter several intelligent races, which serve as a prelude to the playable races in Guild Wars 2. Tiny and extremely intelligent creatures known as the Asura are said to have emerged from underground hideouts in the Maguuma Jungle, whereas hulking humanoids with unbelievable strength known as the Norn have surfaced in the northernmost edges of the Shiverpeaks. Several other races (which will be playable in Guild Wars 2, but not in EotN) are said to have arisen on the continent of Tyria, but only the Sylvari have been announced thus far... although these will be featured to a far lesser extent than the previously mentioned Asura, Charr and Norn.



Story

As players endeavour into the world of Eye of the North they'll come upon a world tormented by earthquakes. All three continents (Cantha, Elona and Tyria) suffer from these terrible quakes, which end up exposing vast tunnel systems below the continents. Naturally you'll be sent off to investigate - which soon escalates into a battle of life and death alongside dwarven allies against an ancient enemy called The Great Destroyer and it's legions. This eventually leads to the discovery of several new civilizations in both new and unexplored areas. Additionally loose ends from previous chapters will be tied up, such as that of the little girl you met in pre-searing Ascalon... what happened to gwen? We'll find out in EotN.
    Unfortunately ArenaNet hasn't really disclosed anything else regarding the story - and we probably won't receive much more information on the topic until release either. All we know is that gamers will face a rather lengthy campaign, spanning three acts, four new regions and over 18 underground dungeons. It almost seems as though the lack of new professions and beginner areas has spurred ArenaNet on to create a far more expansive experience than ever before.



Races

The small and ingenious Asura can be found in a region known as the Tarnished Coast which borders the Maguuma Jungle. The Asura have hidden in this most inhospitable location as they fled from the onslaught of The Great Destroyer. Apparently these Asura are even greater tinkerers than the Dwarves and have constructed grand temples on the outside world, re-engineered the Maguuma Jungle and crafted massive underground tunnel complexes. They can best be described as a mixture of Dwarf and Elf - in that they're a small people who are skilled craftsmen, but also exceedingly capable magicians.

The hulking Norn have carved out a home for themselves on the icey planes of the Far Shiverpeaks. These massive behemoths believe are a purely tribal folk who believe in strength over everything - and being half-giants, they have plenty of that - indeed they can even shape shift into gigantic and powerful animals. Theirs is a somewhat shamanistic society, in which the spirits of dead animals are revered and there are no true leaders as such, but heroes who command respect.

Any Guild Wars player knows the Charr. In Eye of the North we'll finally be introduced to their homelands, which will bear a striking resemblance to the way Ascalon used to look. Players will venture into these dangerous lands in order to retrieve a lost division of Ascalonians amongst other things.



New Content

Some of the new content present in Eye of the North includes roughly 150 new skills, of which 50 are PvE-only skills. This means these skills are only useful or usable in PvE endeavors such as Disarming Traps or skills which provide damage boosts towards specific types of enemies (e.g.: Giants). Also included are a whopping 40 new armor sets (that's 4 per class) and 10 new heroes (which also means players who do not own Nightfall can still enjoy heroes if they purchase EotN). Of course we'll be treated to plenty of new weaponry and other items as well. Much like in the recent Nightfall campaign, EotN will feature several new groups that players can form allegiances with which in turn will unlock special powers.
    The visual detail will be tweaked up a bit as well - although this should not result in a performance hit relative to performance in the most recent chapter - Guild Wars: Nightfall. Of course the best part of Eye of the North is that players no longer have to create new characters or play through beginner sections of the campaign. This time everything is geared towards offering your existing level 20 characters new adventures, items and skills.

Another interesting aspect that's being added are the 18 underground multi-level dungeons. Apparently these will not merely be new zones for hack and slashing, but also feature epic boss fights and even some puzzle elements, which wasn't all that common in Guild Wars previously. ArenaNet developers claim they haven't revealed all the new content just yet - and I'd be surprised if they did. Apparently some of the unannounced features of EotN aught to drive back even the most jaded Guild Wars players - certainly there will be something many a guildleader of a now-inactive guild aught to be able to use as an excuse to get their guild back in order ;)



Prepare for part 2!

A notable addition to the Guild Wars repertoire in Eye of the North will be that of the Hall of Monuments. The precise details still remain unknown, but the way it should work is that all those amazing achievements of yours in Guild Wars can be immortalized in this instanced Hall of Monuments. No one really knows what kind of impact this will have on your gameplay in EotN - but what is known is that this hall of monuments will enable you to unlock awards in Guild Wars 2. By referencing one of your Guild Wars character's hall of monuments you'll be able to access unique companions, equipments, mini-pets and whatnot else in Guild Wars 2.



All in all Guild Wars: Eye of the North seems set to take the Guild Wars community by storm. It seems ArenaNet has finally deviated from it's chapter-based approach and I can only applaud such a move. The new expansion pack approach sounds much more enjoyable for Guild Wars veterans and newbies alike - as the constant stream of new chapters made things needlessly complex. Hopefully we'll learn a thing or two more about Eye of the North in the coming months - and it'll release on schedule some time in the final holiday season of 2007.


Note: a similar, although more extensive, preview for Guild Wars 2 will be uploaded in the coming days. Whereas this preview did not feature too much new information, the Guild Wars 2 preview will!



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