Onlinewelten: The trailer focuses on Zhaitan. Will we encounter the other dragons as well?
Eric Flannum: While we see the minions of the other dragons, the initial release of Guild Wars 2 will focus on Zhaitan as the primary enemy.
Onlinewelten: Is there some kind of hierarchy among the dragons? Eye of the North gave the impression that Primordus was the boss.
Ree Soesbee: There is no hierarchy. Primordus is the boss of Primordus’s servants, whom we saw in Guild Wars: Eye of the North as the destroyers. Primordus was also the first dragon to ‘awaken’ in the world, although the actions of the player characters in that chronicle pushed back his actual rise for several generations. The other dragons, including Zhaitan and Jormag, are independent entities, powerful and inscrutable like forces of nature – and completely uncontrollable, even by one another.
Onlinewelten: Do you plan to open Cantha and Elona from the beginning, or are you saving these zones for possible future add-ons?
Eric Flannum: Cantha and Elona will not be explorable in the initial release of Guild Wars 2. However, I think it is safe to assume that we will be hearing more from both Cantha and Elona in the future.
Onlinewelten: Other MMOs have a rather strict separation between different factions. How will GW2 handle this issue? Is it possible for a sylvari to play with a charr?
Eric Flannum: It is totally possible for any race to play with any other race. One of the primary design philosophies behind Guild Wars 2 is accessibility. We made the decision early on not to have factions that restricted which races could play with each other, so that two friends could always be assured of being able to play with each other no matter which races they wanted to play.
Onlinewelten: The trailer demonstrated a day and night cycle. Will it have a 24 hour rhythm?
Eric Flannum: Day and night in Guild Wars 2 will not run on a 24-hour cycle. Many things, including events, cue off of the day and night cycle and we didn’t want a player to only be able to see certain events when they played and to never see others.
Onlinewelten: Do you plan to include weather effects?
Eric Flannum: Yes, we will definitely have weather effects. One of our goals is to make the world feel very interactive and alive. Weather will certainly play a part in that.
Onlinewelten: At the end of the trailer it looks as if the charr transforms into a gigantic flaming creature. Is that a skill players can use?
Eric Flannum: The charr we see at the end of the trailer is a member of the Flame Legion and is using a skill that players don’t have access to. That being said, players will have access to skills that are just as flashy as the one he’s using.
Onlinewelten: There are considerable concerns that firearms do not fit into a fantasy setting. Didn’t you have any qualms?
Eric Flannum: This reaction is actually something that we were a bit surprised by. The world of Guild Wars has a tradition of using “black powder,” from the powder kegs used to blow open doors in Prophecies to the fireworks and giant turtle cannons in Factions. We thought it was a natural evolution over the course of 250 years for our races to advance their technology. This was especially true of the charr, who have pioneered the use of technology since they have given up on the notion of gods and consider the use of magic to be a sign of weakness.
Onlinewelten: Players will be able to explore underwater territory. Do you have plans for special underwater dungeons?
Eric Flannum: Almost all of our dungeons have some underwater areas and a couple of them do indeed have significant amounts of underwater exploration. We generally regard underwater exploration as another tool to help us make varied and interesting environments, so we use it whenever it seems appropriate based on the setting and situation.
Onlinewelten: Are specific skills or techniques a prerequisite to play underwater?
Eric Flannum: There is a consumable item that allows players to breathe underwater. It lasts a long period of time and is very easy to acquire. We did this because we wanted underwater exploration to be a very easy, accessible option for all players.
Onlinewelten: How vast will Tyria be in Guild Wars 2? How about the distances between the locations?
Eric Flannum: Tyria in Guild Wars 2 covers a significantly larger area than in Guild Wars, and at the same time contains much more playable space in each area. The world of Guild Wars 2 will not only be by the largest world we’ve created thus far, but will also be much more densely packed with interesting things to do and see. As far as distances between locations go, our maps are much larger than they were in the original Guild Wars, and players will be able to travel a long distance between zone boundaries.
Onlinewelten: Will the charr cults play a role in GW2? What about the remaining dwarves?
Ree Soesbee: The charr have changed a great deal since the original Guild Wars, and have reestablished their Legions and their original culture. The Flame Legion, led primarily by the shamans who were in charge during the Searing, still exists, but they are reviled by the other Legions. The dwarves have left the surface of Tyria to hunt Primordus and the destroyers below ground. There is one dwarf active in Tyria, and the players can interact with him, but the others have not been heard from in generations. They have become little more than legend to those races who remained behind.
Onlinewelten: Will all the races have the same or similar classes? How pronounced are the differences between the races?
Eric Flannum: We place no restrictions on professions based on race. We are working hard to ensure that the races feel very different from each other while still allowing an asura warrior to be just as effective as a norn warrior.
Onlinewelten: Is the sylvari’s telepathy going to be of any relevance?
Eric Flannum: Sylvari don’t have telepathy as most people think of it. Instead, they have a racial empathy and feel the emotions of other members of their race in a more abstract way. They aren’t able to communicate to each other directly without actually speaking. This empathic sense will indeed have an effect on the game for sylvari players.
Onlinewelten: Will we find a lot of Utopia in Guild Wars 2?
Eric Flannum: There are certainly some things that made their way from Utopia into Guild Wars 2 but these elements are very different than they were originally conceived. For example, the event system is a feature that had its beginnings in Utopia. Other things did not make it over; for example the Chronomancer will not be making an appearance in Guild Wars 2.
Onlinewelten: Will the gods return some day to Tyria?
Ree Soesbee: The humans still worship their Six Gods with devotion, despite the fact that the gods no longer take an active hand in the destiny of Tyria. Have they truly left? Are they watching, but choosing not to directly answer prayers? These are questions that the people of Divinity’s Reach struggle with on a daily basis. Only the gods themselves know the true answer -- to their questions, and yours.
Wed Jan 27, 2010 6:55 pm