Alliance Battles Bonus Weekend – Guild Wars Gets Civilized

Every once in a while, ArenaNet throws a weekend event that just shouldn’t be missed. This is one of those weekends. Here’s the official word, “Participate in Alliance Battles this weekend to earn double faction. This bonus will last through 11:59 PM Pacific (-7 GMT) on Sunday, September 30.” Sure enough, I did participate. I joined my fellow Luxons and fought against the Kurzicks. Ahhh, the bonus has been just great. I unlocked a ton of skills and I maxed out my Luxon Faction bar three times.

There’s an obvious reason why this weekend’s event is PVP related. ArenaNet pushed their new “Anti-Griefing” system. It’s not a bad system and it’s about time. There was always something just downright uncivilized about Guild Wars PvP. Leechers, spammers, troublemakers and just unsportsmanlike conduct plagued the game. It actually felt good to have a means of punishing miscreants. Although, there is a risk in using the /report command. If you abuse the command, you may lose your Guild Wars account.

These game changes made Alliance Battles more enjoyable. Perhaps too enjoyable. The rewards were quick, as it should be. That’s the problem with this weekend’s Alliance Battle bonus. It doesn’t feel like a bonus. It just feels normal. It shouldn’t take years to max out a title. I got a quick 60,000 points and I didn’t feel like I wasted my entire Saturday. Also, having a way to report troublemakers is not an unusual feature. Maybe in a FPS (First-Person Shooter) one expects foul language, team killers and other oddball behavior. In a Role-Playing Game, the experience should be a bit more civilized.

Two slight changes to the game made a huge difference. Take advantage of it. There’s still time left to enjoy the Alliance Battle Bonus. I also recommend becoming familiar with the /report command. The next time someone is trying to ruin your gaming pleasure, just click on them and use the report command. It’s time to respect the game!