Join us this Friday for the next episode of the Guild Chat livestream, where Rubi and her developer guests will discuss “Jormag Rising.” Please note that this stream will contain spoilers for the episode.
Guild Chat will air Friday, July 31 at noon Pacific Time (UTC-7) on the official Twitch, YouTube, and Facebook channels.
“Jormag Rising,” the fourth episode of The Icebrood Saga, is now live! Check out the release page for all the details and read the update notes on our forums.
Join us this Friday for the next episode of the Guild Chat livestream, where Rubi and her developer guests will discuss “Jormag Rising.” Please note that this stream will contain spoilers for the episode.
Guild Chat will air Friday, July 31 at noon Pacific Time (UTC-7) on the official Twitch, YouTube, and Facebook channels.
Raptors are strong, swift, and agile companions for the far-traveling hero, and this stalwart companion is ready to explore with you! From the intimidating tips of its supraorbital and epinasal horns to the menacing configuration of thagomizers on its tail, this raptor is practically built for defense.
The Wild Trihorn Raptor Skin is available for individual purchase and can be found as an uncommon drop inside Black Lion Chests.
Vermillion Summer ChestInside each chest you’re guaranteed to find a redeemable Black Lion Statuette, Gnashblade’s Exotic Weapon Grab Bag, and two common items. You also have a chance to find something rarer in the fifth slot, including exclusive items, glyphs, and skins from the Spectral Weapon Collection and Phoenix Weapon Collection.
Exclusive Item: Vermillion Wings Backpack Glider Combo
Soar through the skies, dazzling all who see you. This majestic display of plumage glows like a turbulent flame.
Guaranteed Item: Gnashblade’s Exotic Weapon Grab Bag
Open this bag to find one random exotic weapon. Your next step is to find something to hit with it.
Eternal Forged Weapon Collection
Update your armory with elegance for this adventurous age. Designed to invoke a graceful aesthetic, the shimmering heat of these weapons is sure to impress. Visit your nearest Black Lion Weapons Specialist to get them for one Black Lion Claim Ticket each.
Starting this Friday, dye kits are going on sale! For a limited time, pick up these kits at 20% off: Deathly Dye Kit, Glint’s Winter Dye Kit, Solar and Lunar Dye Kit, Flame Dye Kit, Frost Dye Kit, Elonian Landscape Dye Kit, Crimson Lion Dye Kit, Blue Shift Dye Kit, and Taimi’s Dye Kit. Check back next week for more dye kit discounts.
Returning Today
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Log into Guild Wars 2 and press 'O' to access the Black Lion Trading Company for these great offers and more!
Could you use a cool new rig to help take down the Frost Legion? We’re teaming up with Origin PC to celebrate the release of the fourth episode of The Icebrood Saga, “Jormag Rising“! You could win amazing prizes, including a custom gaming PC.
Visit Origin PC’s official site to enter and read all the details.
PrizesThe grand prize is a custom Origin gaming PC featuring art from “Jormag Rising.” The winner will also receive a Guild Wars 2: Path of Fire™ Ultimate Edition code and an Icebrood Saga Hero’s Bundle.
Second Prize (5 Winners): Guild Wars 2: Path of Fire Ultimate Edition and Icebrood Saga Hero’s Bundle
Third Prize (5 Winners): Icebrood Saga Hero’s Bundle
Watch Origin PC build the custom grand prize PC live! You could win one of three Guild Wars 2: Path of Fire Standard Edition codes that will be given away during the stream.
The grand prize winner will be announced on a special Guild Wars 2 livestream, hosted by Origin PC to celebrate the game’s eighth anniversary. A member of the Guild Wars 2 development team will be Origin PC’s guide to the world of Tyria, and viewers have a chance to win one of three Guild Wars 2: Path of Fire Standard Edition codes during the stream.
Join Rubi Bayer and her developer guests for a look at the new meta event coming in next week’s episode, “Jormag Rising“!
Guild Chat will air Friday, July 24 at noon Pacific Time (UTC-7) on the official Twitch, YouTube, and Facebook channels.
Hey, everyone,
Bryan Yarrow and Nick Hernandez here! We wanted to give y’all a little peek into the development of the Assault on the Frost Citadel meta-event and everything going through our heads during the planning process. First, we’ll start with Nick telling us a little about the Citadel Siege!
No Invitation Needed
Nick Hernandez:
Hey y’all! For this release, we wanted the final portion of the meta to draw from all elements of Drizzlewood Coast—like “No Quarter’s” push-and-pull and some newer mechanics on the northern side that are coming with “Jormag Rising“—to create the feeling of one final, epic siege. In this one, you’re playing for all the marbles! We’ve tried to make players feel like they’re following commanders in a continuation of the World vs. World–like setting by taking steps to gain ground against their enemies.
By utilizing mechanics such as capturing areas, building long-distance siege weapons, adapting to on-the-fly plan changes, and playing some good old-fashioned “player vs. door,” we hope to strike a balance between that cooperative war feeling and the fun of bashing on some AI baddies, with all of it culminating in one ultimate goal: crashing their party.
Once players finally break into the citadel, they might notice a change of pace. In the citadel itself, we want to play with making it feel more like an instanced encounter. In WvW, keeps are mostly about breaking in and killing the keep lord. However, since this is supposed to be the Frost Legion’s newly built HQ, we added some layers of complexity and personality to the encounters. And of course, all of this had to be done while not blowing out the scope of the meta.
Going with this instance-style planning and thought process afforded us a lot of benefits. One example was that controlling the layout of the encounters allowed us to gain a greater understanding of where the player “blob” was going to be at any given time. This also freed us up to play with camera angling and create some nice cinematic moments. Finally, we had an opportunity to innovate a bit with player roles. This provided a nice foundation to create some fun content, which diversifies what players can do during each encounter. I like giving options, and hopefully that shows in the end product.
Additionally, we wanted to take some time to figure out how to best end the siege. The citadel itself isn’t the true finale. Throughout the entire siege, there’ve been hints at a looming threat soaring through the skies: a Claw of Jormag. Within the citadel, you deal a massive blow to the Frost Legion and damage their ranks. But you’ll need to take down the Claw itself to solidify the blow you strike to Jormag’s army. We did our best to blend the citadel parts into this finale with an increasing Claw presence until you finally face off with it. When you do, you’ll be met with one tough opponent.
Now here to talk about the magic of said finale is Bryan Yarrow, the designer of the Claw fights!
Here Comes Trouble
Bryan Yarrow:
Thanks, Nick! So, after that grueling assault on the Frost Citadel, the players encounter one final challenge: the Claw of Jormag, a familiar face that serves directly under Jormag. With this Claw, we set out to create some unique mechanics and memorable moments for the encounter to highlight how this isn’t the same Claw that you might have seen before, as well as emphasizing how it’s one thing to fight a dragon’s army…and another entirely to fight the dragon itself!
This battle begins as players exit the citadel and find the Claw perched on a spire of ice far out of reach. The only way to attack the Claw is for the players to repair several cannons around the perimeter of the roost. To do this, players must gather scrap dropped off by allied supply-runner copters and bring it to the cannons, all while dodging the Claw’s freezing onslaught.
This part of the encounter was difficult to get locked down—we wanted to make the players feel like they had to work together in order to bring the Claw down off of its perch, but we didn’t want things to take so much effort that players would get annoyed that they couldn’t just go up and attack it. To accomplish this, we made a lot of adjustments during development to the amount of time it should take to repair the cannons. This helped us hit the sweet spot where success would feel earned but not frustrating.
After succeeding in the first half of the battle, the players get to watch with satisfaction as the cannons score a direct hit on the perched Claw, throwing it against a nearby cliff wall and sending it crashing down to a plateau below—injured, but not defeated.
With the Claw half-buried beneath icy rubble, the players can now engage it directly. Here, the Claw will unleash its most powerful attacks, with skills that blast out icy breath that can’t be dodged or summon gale-force winds. Players must hide behind huge boulders scattered around the area to avoid the attacks and stay alive.
This part of the encounter was designed around a single core idea: the Claw’s signature attack was to blow players off the cliff. In development, this was a tricky tightrope to walk because the goal was to make players feel like they could get blown off the cliff while also making sure that everyone wasn’t getting thrown off constantly. This balance was especially important for players who were new to the encounter. The mechanic of sheltering behind boulders to avoid being blown away ended up being a big part of our solution to that problem. It created an interesting cadence in which players would need to expose themselves to lay on the damage, then retreat to safety to survive.
The Claw of Jormag encounter was a lot of fun to create, and while unique boss mechanics are time-consuming to put together and balance, we knew that they were necessary in order to give the players the feeling of an epic conclusion to the Assault on the Frost Citadel. Of course, not everything that the Claw does is covered here, so keep your eyes open for a few more surprises when you meet it in game!
As we mentioned in our Q3 roadmap, “Jormag Rising” will be released without voice acting due to safety concerns about COVID-19. We plan to update the episode with performances by voice talent as soon as it’s safe to return to the studio and record.
In the meantime, Guild Wars 2 voice actors Jocelyn Blue, Tommie Earl Jenkins, Janell Cox, Claudia Christian, Colleen O’Shaughnessy, and Sam Riegel have a message for Tyria’s heroes. Watch the video below!
You don’t need to be norn to appreciate the ferocious beauty of the Wolfheart Sword and Shield weapon skins. Wolf reminds us that we are stronger together, and that we never need to fight alone. What better symbol of protection than a fierce defensive shield and blade to protect your allies and challenge your enemies?
What’s in Stock
It’s never too early to get spooky, and Halloween items are haunting the shelves this week at discounted prices! Don’t forget to visit the Gem Store and pick up a free Hallows Fortune Fireworks item.
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Log into Guild Wars 2 and press 'O' to access the Black Lion Trading Company for these great offers and more!
What’s it like when a whole game studio works from home? We’re learning every day! Join host Rubi Bayer and her developer guests—remotely—for an inside look at how ArenaNet is adapting to safety precautions during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Guild Chat will air Friday, July 17 at noon Pacific Time (UTC-7) on the official Twitch, YouTube, and Facebook channels.
We’ve partnered up with players to showcase their creative Guild Wars 2-inspired content on the official Guild Wars 2 Twitch channel. Read on for this week’s scheduled programming, and don’t forget to check out the Guild Wars 2 category on Twitch for more great streams!
Streams for the week of July 13Wednesday, July 15
The Guild Wars 2 Art Show (by Fiaoradd)(English)
Noon Pacific Time (UTC-7)
Watch ArenaNet Creative Partner Fiaoradd create art on this week’s show.
If you need help converting times into your own time zone, you can use this tool. Thanks for watching!