During last year’s Friend/Ships event we spent some time with officers of the [POOF] guild to learn about how they play together in Guild Wars 2, and you can watch the original video about them here. We followed up with Alex and Ryan to see how they’re doing!

Interviews have been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Question: It’s been a year since we teamed up for Friend/Ships. How have things changed for you?

Alex: So, that’s something, haha.

Ryan: Alex and I are dating!

Alex: Yeah, you guys and the Friend/Ships video are definitely to blame for that finally happening after six years of being friends and knowing each other.

Ryan: After the trip to L.A. in February for the video we really connected, and a few months later we made it official! Ten months later and about four or five trips back and forth, and Alex has decided to move up to Canada with me!

Alex: I’m actually headed back up in mid-February to experience “real” winter apparently haha, and get things set in motion for immigration and stuff.

Question: What’s your favorite way to play together?

Ryan: After initially getting to know Alex online, it’s amazing to meet in person and game together side by side. I think the best way to play is with people you love because the connections you make with people are what stick with you.

Alex: The dual battle station (even though it was just my travel laptop) set up at Ryan’s place every time I go up to see him is honestly the best. We’re both right next to each other so it’s just really lovely and comfy.

Question: Tell us about an especially powerful memory of playing Guild Wars 2 together in the past year.

Ryan: After recording the Friend/Ships video last February, Alex and I grew a lot closer. She came up to Canada to visit me a few months later and we were able to play our daily fractals beside each other. After playing every night online with her for so long, getting to play Guild Wars 2 in person with someone I cared about was really special to me.

Alex: My poor laptop tried its hardest, too. Challenge mode runs were…sketchier than normal! I have one memory that might not seem too special, but after I went back home from that visit both Ryan and I wanted to work on a new Gift of Exploration and instead of using characters that were leveled, we both made new ones and started fresh. So we went through map completion and it was just really relaxing and fun to spend time together working on something long term like that.

Question: What makes your adventures together unique?

Ryan: I’m not sure if our adventure together is all that unique—I read many stories like ours during the Friend/Ships campaign last year. However, all the deep connections people form through Guild Wars 2 amaze me; even though Alex and I are 1,600 miles apart we managed to grow so close together through the game, and I count myself very lucky to have found her. :)

Alex: I think what makes our adventures unique is the fact that they sort of transcend game genres. Things aside from Guild Wars 2, like strategy games or single-player console games where we’re both on the couch and trade off, or even an online D&D campaign (which Anthony and some of our other guildies are in!) are ways we’ve been adventuring together, and it’s all very special to me. There’s also the grand adventure of moving to another country for me that’s pending on the near horizon.

Question: Just for fun—do you have a story for your characters?

Alex: I’m a bit of an altoholic but my main for a long time was my asura guardian. I was a really active roleplayer a long while back, and one day I asked Ryan what his asura guardian’s name was since his in-game name was more of a title. Long story short: I penned a really silly blurb about them about five years ago, well before any threads of our relationship even began and now they’re our character “pairing,” if you will. I commissioned one of our friends, who we met through our daily fractal challenge mode runs for a drawing of them, and it’s super cute and has been my phone background since April.

Thank you for sharing your story with us, Alex and Ryan!

Do you have a story of your own to share about your positive Guild Wars 2 experiences with friends, loved ones, or even helpful strangers? Tag them with #GW2FriendShips on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, or Tumblr, and we’ll post them on the official site for the whole community to read.

If you include the #GW2Giveaway tag as well, you could win great prizes—including a trip for two to gamescom 2019! Check out the official rules and regulations here.

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!

The Guild Wars 2 Art Show (by Marius Bota)(English)
Noon Pacific Time (UTC-8)
REBROADCAST: Marius is back with new creative work for the Art Show. You can also find all the previously created artworks on the Guild Wars 2 Art Show Flickr Album.

Guildnews Podcast (by Sputti) (German)
Watch live at Guildnews.
10:00 a.m. Pacific Time (UTC-8)
The week in review with the Guildnews crew.

ArenaNet Livestream: Let’s Play Guild Wars 2 World vs World (English)
2:30 p.m. Pacific Time (UTC-8)
Join the World vs. World development team in the Mists for their weekly stream.

Coliseum 1v1 Deluxe (by Battle Efficiency) (English)
Watch live at Battle Efficiency.
11:00 a.m. Pacific Time (UTC-8)
Join a 1 vs. 1 core tournament, open to everyone.

If you need help converting times into your own time zone, you can use this tool. Thanks for watching!

During last year’s Friend/Ships campaign, the community submitted tons of stories about real-life relationships in Guild Wars 2. Over the next few weeks, we’ll catch up with some of the folks who participated to see how they’re doing in 2019! This week we talked to Sheila, a player who loves to spend time with her daughter in Tyria. You can read her original Friend/Ships 2018 post here (available in English only).

Interviews have been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Question: Can you give us a quick recap of your story?

Sheila: My oldest daughter has played since the very beginning (alpha testing Guild Wars® in 2005), and after watching her play for a few months, I soon talked her into teaching me how, as it would be my first time playing any type of MMO. She had lots of patience, and I fell in love with the whole experience and the benefit of getting to play with her as well.

My other kids played as well for a little while, but the two of us continued playing side by side for over a decade until she got married. Now that she has two little children, I’m on hold getting to play with her, but I still have the extra accounts so that my grandchildren can someday play with us too! ^_^

Q: What are your favorite things to do together in game?

Sheila: Doing all the storylines together!

Q: In the past year, has anything changed for you as the game has changed?

Sheila: I keep falling more and more in love with the game and ALL the many different events that you can participate in. I love the story, map events, World vs. World, PvP, fractals, raids, and the achievements.

Q: Tell us about an especially powerful or memorable moment you’ve had playing together in 2018 or 2019 so far.

Sheila: Since my daughter has two very young children, we only get to do the story events together for now, but it’s still very special anytime I get to play with her.

Q: How do your in-game relationships make your time in Guild Wars 2 unique?

Sheila: My friends from the original Guild Warsand friends in my guild have always made the difference in being able to fully enjoy ALL aspects of the game, as there is so much to do and achieve.

Thank you for taking the time to talk with us, Sheila!

Do you have a story of your own to share about your positive Guild Wars 2 experiences with friends, loved ones, or even helpful strangers? Tag them with #GW2FriendShips on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, or Tumblr, and we’ll post them on the official site for the whole community to read.

If you include the #GW2Giveaway tag as well, you could win great prizes—including a trip for two to gamescom 2019! Check out the official rules and regulations here.

Explore the original Guild Wars® without limits! The Guild Wars Complete Collection is now available, containing everything you need to experience the classic story, customize your gameplay, and fill up your Hall of Monuments to earn rewards in Guild Wars 2.

The Guild Wars Complete Collection includes the following:

• An access key for account creation
• Access to the full original Guild Wars, Guild Wars: Factions®, and Guild Wars: Nightfall® campaigns
• Access to the Guild Wars: Eye of the North® expansion via downloadable client (requires a level 20 character)
• Access to the Hall of Monuments in Guild Wars: Eye of the North, where you can earn exclusive rewards in Guild Wars 2
• Guild Wars: Game of the Year Edition bonus items: seven exclusive weapons and a fire imp combat ally to assist in your adventures in Guild Wars (To claim your items, type “/bonus” in the chat window while logged in to the game.)
• Bonus: M.O.X. the golem Hero—the ultimate in magical mechanized party protection (requires a level-10 character)

Whether you’re a veteran player or visiting for the first time, it’s a great day to log in and play Guild Wars! We’ve made a few quality-of-life updates in today’s release, and you can now purchase a Xunlai Material Storage Expansion from the Guild Wars store. Check out the patch notes here.

Last February, we asked Tyrians to share stories of real-world relationships—with friends, family, significant others, and guildmates—that began or grew while playing Guild Wars 2. The response was overwhelming, and we received so many heartwarming, funny, and moving submissions from around the world.

If you’re new to Guild Wars 2, we want to hear about the bonds you’ve forged in game and the experiences you’ve had with other players. Did you join an awesome guild, tackle a challenge, or learn something new with a little help from your friends? If you’re a veteran Friend/Shipper, tell us how you and your companions are doing! Have you found a new favorite activity? Do you keep up with Living World together?

You can share your story as a text post, include screenshots, or even capture it on video—it’s up to you! Tag it with #GW2FriendShips on YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, or Facebook, and we’ll collect them on a special page on the official Guild Wars 2 website for the whole community to read.

(If you’re using Facebook, please share your story as a new post on our official Facebook page, and not as a reply to any of our posts. We don’t want to miss it!)

Add the #GW2Giveaway hashtag as well, and your qualifying post will be entered in our sweepstakes. We’ve got great prizes to give away: twenty winners will receive 800 gems, five winners will receive a custom art commission from our creative partners, and one grand prize winner will get a trip for two to gamescom 2019!

For more details, please see the official rules and regulations.

Log in to Guild Wars 2 throughout the month of February and visit the city of Lion’s Arch—you’ll get an achievement and an Endless Friendship Tonic to show how much you care!

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!

Peachy Party (by AuroraPeachy) (English)
Watch live at Aurora_Peachy.
9:00 a.m. Pacific Time (UTC-8)
Join AuroraPeachy and the Peachy Party community for PvE fun and discussion! All are welcome, new and veteran players alike.

The Guild Wars 2 Art Show (by Marius Bota)(English)
Noon Pacific Time (UTC-8)
Marius Bota is back with more amazing art. You can also find all the previously created artworks on the Guild Wars 2 Art Show Flickr Album.

Guildnews Podcast (by Sputti) (German)
Watch live at Guildnews.
10:00 a.m. Pacific Time (UTC-8)
The week in review with the Guildnews crew.

ArenaNet Livestream: Let’s Play Guild Wars 2 World vs World (English)
2:30 p.m. Pacific Time (UTC-8)
Join the World vs. World development team in the Mists for their weekly stream.

Tyria Fashion Week [Part 1] (by Fashionfuchs) (German)
Watch live at Fashionfuchs.
4:00 a.m. Pacific Time (UTC-8)
The biggest fashion show Tyria has ever seen! All previous Tyria’s Next Topmodel winners from 2018 clash in an epic fashion war to crown the most fashionable of them all.

Tyria Fashion Week [Part 2] (by Fashionfuchs) (German)
Watch live at Fashionfuchs.
9:00 a.m. Pacific Time (UTC-8)
Tune in for the grand finale of Tyria’s biggest fashion show ever. Who will be crowned the champion of couture?

If you need help converting times into your own time zone, you can use this tool. Thanks for watching!

Today we released the first of three short stories about the thoughts and feelings of some of your allies in the aftermath of Living World Season 4’s fourth episode, “All or Nothing.” They contain heavy spoilers for the episode.

Rytlock’s story was written by Alex Kain of the ArenaNet Narrative team, illustrated by creative partner Jerome Jacinto, and formatted using the open-source program Twine.

To read the first story, visit the official page. Click on Rytlock’s portrait and follow the links through his thoughts.