NCSoft posts

Guild Wars 2 trailers so far have tended to be on the side of area reveals rather than anything substantial. In this case, it's the home of the Charr, another one of the playable races. While they were primarily antagonists in the original Guild Wars, here they are much more benign. Lots of beautiful landscapes and menacing felids abound in this trailer, but once again there is nothing of any real in-game substance. Just some excellent art.

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Guild Wars 2 may be months, perhaps even years away, but the ArenaNet development team is still revealing more and more about it's long awaited MMO game. Today it's April Fool's web site update gives us another profession, the Commando.

Of course all of this is just a little bit of fun for April 1 but the truth is the Commando would be one of the game's most popular professions if it really was going to be put into Guild Wars 2. After all who wouldn't want to shoot a dragon or a fantasy creature with a sub-machine gun? We know we would. The game's official site has all sorts of info about the Commando including some actual gameplay movies.

Download the Guild Wars 2 Commando Skills trailer at Big Download

Guild Wars 2 and the game's developer ArenaNet is slowly revealing more info about the upcoming fantasy MMO sequel. The newest video shows off the Thief profession as used by several different races via in-game cinematic footage.

As you can see, the Thief can use its hyper-speed abilities to take out even the largest of enemies. It can also used both melee weapons like knives along with ranged weapons like arrows and guns (including using them in John Woo-style dual shooting mode). There's also some stealth involved in the Thief profession. We will likely learn more about Guild Wars 2 in the months ahead of its release.

Guild Wars 2 is heading to PAX East 2011 this weekend and for those of you who will be attending the now sold out show in Boston you will get a chance to see a new build of developer ArenaNet's upcoming fantasy MMO sequel. One of the new features that will be seen in the PAX East build will be how the game handles crafting.

In a new post on the ArenaNet blog site, game designer Andrew McLeod writes about the eight different crafting disciplines that can be learned in the game. Characters can learn up to two disciplines at once. The blog entry also talks about how characters can gather the raw materials for making items in the game and the crafting stations which will be found in the major population centers in the game world. It sounds like the crafting system will be simple enough to use but will still allow for a ton of variety in making weapons and other items.

While it has yet to be added to the official Guild Wars 2 web site, developer ArenaNet sent over word today that its upcoming fantasy MMO sequel has yet another profession, the Thief. This is the sixth playable profession to be revealed for the long awaited game.

As one might imagine, players who take on the Thief professional will have characters that are designed to be quick and stealthy. What the Thief lacks in power and in armor is made up in being able to travel and vanish along with weapons skills that don't need any recharge. For more info about the Thief head over to our sister site Massively who got to check out the Thief at GDC 2011.

There is a new zone trailer for Guild Wars 2, and it covers the land of the Nordic-like Norn. Full of sweeping vistas, rugged wildlife, and treacherous terrain, it looks like a beautiful wilderness-styled zone. Of note to us are the snow-covered areas, such as the dwelling and the statues of bears, and the distinct architecture of the Norn. There's also an arena, just in case you forgot about combat while taking in all the beauty. once again, a relatively valueless trailer for story or game mechanics, but entertaining for the art style.

Download Guild Wars 2 'Norn Zone Preview' Trailer
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The High Five update for Lineage II is now live, so players can enjoy all the fan-inspired improvements that have been added to the game. Features include additional content, new skills, and gear that can be taken straight off raid bosses. Continue after the jump to watch a trailer where the developers run through the changes found in the the High Five update and system requirements. Lineage II requires a paid subscription to play.

About the Lineage II High Five Update:
"The High Five update brings a new array of skills that players have been seeking including a new hunting system with new buffs, visually enhanced mobs and an assortment of new Grand Olympiad enhancements. Additionally, Lineage II players can look forward more accessible Epic bosses and an improved matching system in hopes of encouraging more people to engage in epic raids and battles as a whole."

Download Lineage II: The Chaotic Throne - High Five Client (5.7 GB)
Download Lineage II - High Five Update Trailer (273 MB)
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City of Heroes has been live since 2004 but so far the super hero MMO from developer Paragon Studios and publisher NCsoft has had mostly human or human-like player characters to choose from. That all changes soon as the game will introduce the Animal Pack to its subscribers.

The pack, which will be priced at $9.99, will add over 60 new costume parts to the game's character creator that will allow players to make super-powered beings that look like humanoid tigers, wolves, eagles (like you see above) and others. It also adds six new emotes, two new auras and a new travel power called Beast Run. Yes, it's just like it sounds; you will be able to move more like a wild animal than a human. The Animal Pack will be released on February 23. You can check out a trailer showing off some of the animal options after the jump:

Much like Blizzard, the team at developer ArenaNet is known for taking its time when it comes to making its games. The MMO sequel Guild Wars 2 is certainly an example of that. The game was officially announced nearly four years ago and it still doesn't have an official release year, much less a release date. However this week the game's official FAQ has been updated with this statement, "We will be conducting small closed alpha and beta tests in 2011." The FAQ page goes on to say, "The feedback from these tests will determine when we will do public beta tests and ship the game.

While this is far from an actually release date window it sounds like ArenaNet and publisher NCSoft are at least getting closer to whatever milestone they want to reach for Guild Wars 2. In the meantime the game's official web site as well as ArenaNet's web site have been posting more details this week on how humans fit into the game's fictional world.


[Via Massively]

Guild Wars 2 is exciting for any number of reasons, with the foremost being how the game plays. However, ArenaNet has decided to relax a bit on the gameplay front and instead gives us this trailer. It explores the starting zone for the human race, and shows off the natural beauty and architecture therein. It's a testament to the power of Guild Wars 2's engine in rendering real-time environments, but that's about all there is to it. This trailer is pretty scenery and nothing more.

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