Hard Mode: Ascalon City (Pre-Searing)

I don’t write these rants because I’m angry at ArenaNet. These words are to improve the game. Since Photics.com is a dedicated fansite, the strength of the Guild Wars is directly proportional to the strength of this website. The more successful the game, the more significant this website becomes.

TANK - The Guild Wars WarriorThat’s why I’m pleased to see ArenaNet leveraging the Guild Wars store. Yes, I know some members of the community prefer an actual box, but digitial distribution was always the intention. Originally, ArenaNet was intending to bypass the brick and mortar retail stores. Maybe not entirely, but Guild Wars was designed to be purchased online. To encourage digital downloading, ArenaNet is using their most powerful lure. They’re using Gwen to get you to shop in a virtual store. If you want to see what happened to Gwen post-searing, you’ll have to drop $30 in the Guild Wars store before Halloween.

That means ArenaNet wants you to buy Guild Wars: Eye of the North online. ;)

I’m totally cool with that. It means more money for ArenaNet and NCsoft. More profit means a stronger franchise. That strengthens the game. That’s why I dropped $5 on the preorder. I support this new direction. It’s good for the game, which means it’s ultimately good for you and me. Now, you might be wondering, what does this have to do with Pre-Searing?

TANK is back as a PvE character. I’m trying for the survival title. Surprisingly, it’s not easy to stay alive. Every time TANK dies, I have to delete him and start over. This essentially adds permadeath to the game. People would play a lot smarter if they only had one life. After recreating TANK yet another time, I noticed a new message. I had access to three new bonus items.

Max damage weapons are nice. But when you’ve been level 20 for years, they’re not exactly rare. I didn’t pre-order GW:EN for the weapons. I pre-ordered for the early access to the game.