Photics.com

I remember the days of alpha, the early years of Guild Wars. The game’s artificial intelligence wasn’t so hot. There weren’t henchmen. There weren’t heroes. You were on your own. Yet, in my favorite little farming spot, I happened to notice that the guards would follow me. As I progressed through the map, my army of NPC warriors grew in size. It must have been a shock to the Charr. I don’t know if I influanced the final decision to include henchmen and heroes in the game, but I certainly do enjoy grouping with my AI Buddies. Yet, if the AI keeps improving the way it does, at what point will characters like Koss, Devona or Mhenlo gain consciousness? Episode #43 illustrates what it would be like if your Henchmen / Heroes developed a mind of their own.

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Ever have dream about a video game? It’s a fairly rare occurrence for me. But considering that I’ve been playing video games for almost three decades, one was bound to happen sooner or later. Sometime in between the release of Guild Wars: Prophecies and Guild Wars: Nightfall, I had an incredibly vivid dream. If dreams were TVs, this was in high definition. We’re talking 1080 progressive, not that interlaced stuff.

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Part 11 of the Photics.com Nightfall video series is a detailed tutorial for the Dzagonur Bastion bonus mission. Photics and his allies must hold off an onslaught of enemy forces. Michael Garofalo gives some suggestions for victory on this difficult level.

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I have a new hobby in Guild Wars – farming promotion points for the Lightbringer title. With Guild Wars 2 off in the distant future, I’m stuck in an unusual spot. I’m not excited about other MMORPGs, but I’m still looking for something to play right now. That’s when I started looking into titles, as they’re supposed to have some type of effect in the sequel. Yet, some have amazing bonuses for right now. Imagine, a 40% boost in offense against creatures of darkness?! Now that’s something worth grinding for. How do you write such an activity into a Role-Playing storyline? How do you discuss sequels and titles while staying in character? Lost in Ascalon episode #42 finds a way.

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