Very thorough interview! But I am not sure it's such a good idea to try to force role playing fans into faction fighting. I, personally, like to play non-competitively, I have enough fights and competition during my average workday :-)

Well done. I usually do not read interviews because they tend to be just rephrased PR mumbo jumbo, but yours is different..

Very interesting, answered many questions. Though, I still doubt a bit if GW2 will be as innovative as GW1...

I like GW1 and eye of the North a lot. I think with GW2 they should incorporate the strength of a player's skills and spells every 10 levels. Anyways it's just an idea that I think a lot of people would like instead of having a skill or spell the gets nerfed because it's too overpowered. If a person has a higher level then there shouldn't be a problem with the strength of a spell or skill. I am definitely looking foward to GW2.

Interesting read, but I'd like to hear more about how the rest of the game will be set up, maps, player types, etc; and perhaps when expected game trailers, screenshots will be released

wow it looks like gw2 will keep players interested for a long time with the complex world pvp and the ever changing event system but if they can combine world pvp and the event system it would be better.

Great ideas and notions; I am Extremely glad to see the heads of Guild Wars is very passionate and loyal to their work. I have GMed WoW in the past for a long time and thought it was great, but Truly, the Guild Wars staff is Absolutely Devoted to players. The game is elegance itself. Can't wait for GW2, but I am very glad and pleasantly surprised to find that Guild Wars one will be ongoing for as long as players need it. Absolutely Great; not many companies would care or upkeep a game for the Players and not for Profit, seeing how there is no monthly fees even when GW1 becomes "outdated" but still have players. Enormously Admirable.

But if you buy guildwars 2 can you travel to guildwars prophecies and nightfall and factions ?

All this talk of varying forms of PVP does not mention a huge part of gw1 PVP, Heros Ascent. I really do hope they keep Heros Ascent in some form in gw2 and its related titles that many people have spent the last few years working on.

No we don't need anymore HA, GW2 should put an end to elitists and places they play. GvG will be sufficient and more OPEN random PVP areas should be made like FA, AB, and RA. Where people can't be pushed out because of their builds like in HA and TA. They should make a random HA arena if anything, so, anyone an everyone can have a chance at the phat loot at the end of the tunnel.

Plus there's no way in hell that GW is WOW CLOSEST competitor. Lineage and Lineage 2 would be closer than GWs.

Good interview indeed.
I agree with the anonymous who said that there should be a random HA. For a new player or a player without fame it is very difficult if not almost impossible to play at HA due to the fact that finding a team is so hard. If there were random HA, everyone could play 8v8 more easily.

Not bad, Personaly I love GW and I'm sure I'll always do. GW Anet.

No, those who have Guild Wars 2 will not be able to take their characters to the campaigns in Guild Wars 1. This game is taking place about 250 years after the first, so it is unlikely in the extreme that characters will ever be able to go between them. Only those who use the Hall of Monuments will have any content shared.

Great another PvP leveling grindfest. . . . yawn. This genere needs something new.

There is one thing anet forgot about, the vast majority is NOT interested in pvp.

"When players spend hundreds of hours to build up their character, what do they want do do? They want to compete against their friends!"

Wrong, they don't spend hunders of hours to build up their characters to compete against their own friends, they spent hunders of hours and build up their characters to be able to use the best skills and to be able to deal the highest damage and to be the biggest help to their friends to fight against the bad guys like diablo.

Kind of interesting, but ... They were really awfully vague about GW2. I don't give a rip about PvP, so that whole section didn't have much of an impact for me. I am looking forward to seeing something *substantive* about the gameplay design for GW2. It wasn't to be found here, unfortunately.

Excellent. With previous GW2 interviews, I keep getting more nervous about all the details. Having an overview of what they "expect" the game to be is much more appealing.
And I think all the business model questions missed the mark a little. Richard Garrott said Guild Wars model was flawed just before TR flopped, but I have heard very little about a change in content releases. Campaigns again? Core with expansions? I remember reading that the thing they liked least about making chapters was having to reinvent Guild Wars every 6 months. Will they decide to do something different with GW2?
I sincerly hope that Guild Wars 2 will be great and attact hardcore Guild Wars 1 players(myself). But I can't help but think that they had something special with the first and just got lucky 2 more times. Do they really know what makes Guild Wars great that they can recreate it and improve on it? Or did they just hit the jackpot of the unexplored game genre success... that because they were so unique, the details didn't make or break the game.

As fans, we can only hope for the best. But until then, I hope we keep having these updates on the depths of development. Don't go dark on us until the GW2 betas ANet!

-Billy

I like where the creators are coming from.

I personally am just hoping that when the release of GW2 comes out that the community goes into a respectful era again. Who does not miss the nice community back from Mid to End 2005? If they added more random-joining content (missions and PvP) then grouping will not be impossible. It is hard enough to find a group for HA, thank you elitests and cookie-cutter lovers, and for Missions, thank you crappy builds. So if they added a few peices of random-joining content, all those problems will be solved. Though there is the fact that you might be monk-less or you will find the, not-so, occasional newbie.

I like their idea of World PvP. It might bring a very interesting feeling of War. I can't wait to see what will happen when you have an Asura vs. Norn war, or Dwarves vs. Charr type of thing going (that is, if that is how it will work). World PvP will give a great sense of fighting for an area. This will make farming for items and such more interesting. We all know that you must go to a certain area to fight a boss to get a certain item. Well, if that place is taken by someone, you'll have to fight for it to get it and said item. World PvP will be a great addition into making Tyria feel like a real world.

I will be part of GW as long as I can emotionally and physically take it. I don't need to become addicted because I'm not paying per month. This game allows me to come and go as I please, and that is why I like it. Thank you to the creators. I'm excited for GW2.

"There is one thing anet forgot about, the vast majority is NOT interested in pvp."

Izzy must pull his hair out because when something is eventually shown to need a nerf, he has to consider balance for both PvE and PvP. I don't agree with your statement, I think there is a reasonable amount of people who want to PvP, but in the case of Tombs, ANet has made so many dramatic changes (skill and mechanic) wise, that I honestly couldn't say that Tombs is a great PvP enviroment. That and it's driven away a lot of the old guilds that used to be there. While The King Of The Hill altar cap is definately I nice addition, relic runs and capture points just suck. GvG is alright, but it too has suffered from skill imbalance.

Actually, a very good interview. I agree with many of you that usually 'pre-release' interviews tend to be more advertisement than informative, and this one has settled many fears that I had at first hearing of GW2.

Now, I am just an average player and not into PVP at all; I just like to play. My friends and I get together and knock out a quest or two, share info about the game and generally help each other out. I'm hoping that we can continue to do this sort of gameplay with GW2 without becoming so mired in the 'War over territory' that it sucks the fun out of the experience.

I'm looking forward to seeing what Arenanet has in store for us. Hoping for the best.

How the F*ck does one get to read the whole interview?????

I have to agree with most here. PvP is only a small portion of GW's appeal. I am a little disappointed to hear that GW2 is primarily focusing on the PvP aspect of the game. GW1 did a great thing by incorporating the Dungeons in GW1 (GWEN), but now it sounds as though GW2 is not going to use the "wins" from GWEN as a learning experience.

What ever happened to Guild Wars being a 3 area focus? PvP, Group play, and "Soloing" ---> I would like GW's to go back to your basics. That's why we liked GW so much (If I wanted world PvP, I would have bought WoW)

Guild Wars sales recorded 13 billion Won, an increase of 57% from the previous quarter,
and an increase of 16% from the previous year. These increases are mainly due to the
successful launch of Guild Wars: Eye of the North, the first expansion to Guild Wars
franchise.
In total, the Guild Wars series has sold more than 4.5 million copies, making it one of
the most successful online roleplaying games.

GOOD JOB!!!

A fabulous interview, Jörg, with questions that offer new facets way off from the usual PR talk. Wouldn't it be more readable if the interviewer's questions were in bold format?

Bah. GW1 has needed trade improvements and more storage since day 1. Cost to add that? NONE. Their vision is you should suffer shuffling things around (or pay for mules/extra accounts for the sole purpose of storage = inflated sales numbers).

GW2 being PVP focussed will mean it will lose all the RPG fans to other RPG oriented games, PVP focused gamers in GW1 are a minority and it is thinning out already. I don't understand their move towards more PVP orientation.

I was a HUGE fan of GWs. I am really worried about this pvp/pve thing. The part where you a higher lvl person can bring a lower lvl person up sounds bad. This is a feature from CoH. I truly enjoy playing pvp, and doing pve when I am burned out. It keeps a good balance. The true pvpers do not like the RA, or AB because they are not fun. Inexperienced/causal pvpers are not fun to play with or against. For HA, and people complaining how it is hard to get into a group because of "Elitists." Just remember even the high rank players were rank 1 at one time or another. Everyone has to deal with earning rank/respect. My main worry about the pvp in GWs2 is that anet will try to make pvp for everyone, and not make it competitive enough.
I was a huge fan of GWs for 2.5 years. I quit about 4months ago, and can not wait until GW2 comes out. I just hope it is worth the wait. I HATE grinding, and I truly hope anet does not do high lvls or anything that makes players grind Argh!!

I think GW2 would be a lot better if it had Playerkilling. I play GW and many other games. Guild Wars PvP i'm not very attracted to, but in other games I love the PKing. Anways I hope GW2 will be awsome (:

Awesome I can't wait till Guild Wars 2 the beta is in the 2d quarter of 2008 yea!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm glad I found this great interview; there's been a dearth of new GW2 info for quite some time. I've been playing GW since release, and have naturally purchased both new campaigns and the expansion. I primarily play PvE, although I do dabble in PvP, and at one point I had aspirations of joining a more competitive guild.

On the topic of connecting PvP and PvE: I feel that what the Anet devs say is spot-on; GW has some excellent competivite PvP, and some great PvE, but fails to connect the two in a positive way. For instance, I would love to PvP more, but as is mentioned in the interview, breaking into the higher-levels of PvP is nearly impossible for someone like me who can't pour a dozen or more hours a week into practicing. My life simply doesn't allow me the time to do that, the result being that I just don't feel that I can offer enough to even modestly experienced teams to justify my spot on the team. As a result, I rarely PvP anymore.

I think GW2's world PvP is the perfect solution to this. Being able to play a part, no matter how small, in an ongoing struggle would be both fun and rewarding. I wouldn't have to worry about justifying my place on the team, because there's no appreciable size limit, plus every little bit helps.

I've been playing a lot of Team Fortress 2 lately, and on most highly populated public servers, you'll have players on your team with a range of experience and skill, from newbies to seasoned experts. For the most part, having a newbie or two on your team isn't going to lose you the match. And everybody contibutes at least a little bit, and even newbies can get a chance to shine. Now, I'm not trying to say that GW2's world PvP should be a twitch-based fragfest, because that would be stupid, but I am trying to indicate where Anet might be coming from.

If Anet can continue to offer their traditional, highly competitive PvP for the purists out there, and also successfully implement this crossover World PvP as well, I think they will have a real winner on their hands. Although, there's still very little information out there about PvE in GW2, and that's something else entirely.

There's a lot more I could say, but this post is already long, so suffice it to say that I give world PvP a big huge thumbs-up, and I'm going to be keenly waiting to hear more about PvE.

Also, who else is really anticipating the first screenshots? GW still looks great, in no small part thanks to it's incredible art direction. I can only dream about what the devs can do with next-gen DX10 hardware. I bet it'll be phenomenal, and I can't wait for it.

I'm a big fan of GW, becoz I like the Lobby-Game concept and enjoy doing quest and finishing mission with my friends. We don't like PVP, we just love to explore the world. Before we tried WoW but it force player to fighting other players, actually we hate this system, and we quited WoW very fast and join back GW. When we knew that GW2 is coming we are very excited! But after reading this interview, we're afraid that GW2 will be another WoW, forcing players to PVP..

Guild Wars sales recorded 13 billion Won, an increase of 57% from the previous quarter,
and an increase of 16% from the previous year. These increases are mainly due to the
successful launch of Guild Wars: Eye of the North, the first expansion to Guild Wars
franchise.
In total, the Guild Wars series has sold more than 4.5 million copies, making it one of
the most successful online roleplaying games. A quote from an earlier post.

When you are on a good thing, why change it?

Damn, teasing interviews like this make the time between the (beta) release of Guild Wars 2 even longer.. The World vs World sounds very appealing, knowing that (since I adore PvE) my characters will also be able to give a nice can of whoop-ass to others.. ^^

man i cant wait for GW2, i have played GW from the release date and still play it. There are some things though that i have always missed in the game. from what ive read here allot of those things will be implemented into GW2 so weeeeeeeeeee.

Seems odd to me as well about the PVP thing. I prefer it to be an option not a forced issue. Some days I dont feel like the bull of other PVPers so I love PVE. I can beat the stuffing out of NPCs and just go on about my business. Guess time will tell if it is better or not. Have GW1 but I will rely on fellow gamer reviews before I buy GW2.

I'm a little concerned about this PvP thing as well. I am a casual player and often play "alone" with just my henchmen. I don't want to be forced to play PvP as part of the game. As long as I can complete missions / quests on my own or with a friend or two I'll be fine.
I guess time will tell.

Wait where does it talk about forcing players to PvP? I though Anet's whole design philosophy was flexiblity for the player to be able to play how he/she wants? Or did I miss something?

I agree, I wouldn't be happy if I were FORCED to PvP. But unless I'm missing something here, I don't think we're going to be forced...

I don't really think of GW as a roleplaying game, it railroads the players instead of letting them choose what they're gonna say. (Also it doesnt matter for the story if ur a monk or a necromancer for example), NPC's will always say the same things. In GW2 I would like to see more roleplaying.
The PvP is allready great, I hope GW2 will keep that up next to the new world pvp.

Ok i truly hope GW 2 is not PvP based i really never got into it and would hate to have to start all over on another mmo, i mean ive been addicted for almost 2 yrs now and have made some great friends amoungst the gw world. I do think some ideas should be put into effect to generate more "Guild Loyalty" meaning more Guild based events,anet competions not pvp relatd, missions, etc and have rewards i.e. PvP ladder --> PvE ladder. Items can be made available to guilds with good rank in either or un-nerfed skills even lol i know sounds weird but maybe a little fine tunning as well, also if gw/anet needs to make money .. well have a admin msg me in game or something cause the Fire guild has some retty great ideas for that that could keep the game free low cost and bring in more and more players daily... just a thought anywho any know if the rumors are true on the release date for gw2 ?

Fantastic Interview.

I do believe they KNOW what makes GWs special, and i DO believe they will continue this in the future.

:)

I was on the Alpha team for the first GuildWars, clan Club G and Negative Zero...

I feel that GW1 missed out on a bigger opportunity, by capturing the US e-Sport community. Everything was great until you were forced to 'capture' elites.

My one hope with GuildWars 2 is that PvP is completely open, no unlocking this or that... and hopefully expand on the smaller PvP team play.

I hope they will keep the tactical pvp way as its whats making pvp building a serious deal and exciting in gvg beside the down part of the balance between skills getting worse expansion after expansion. Be aware devs, The skill system of your game is unique and it will be the difference for pvp players, all the old pvp leavers for unbalanced metagame abuse over expansion might come back if you set this well. Otherwise Pking and free pvp such as uo^^ might be better.
And for instance, tutorials about skills use and pvp system helps a lot pve newbies but there are always pve players with no clue who can reach pvp isle and join in with idiotic builds even if they arent idiots themselves.
Pick your interest, i could add more but i am more passive than that, I and we trust you, make gw something everyone can enjoy without ruining others fun. (yes pve/pvp) .

this game is going to be awesome, but i get so mad reading all these posts about being forced into PVP. theres no forced pvp, you can play the game as long as you want and never have to pvp. the worlds they talk about are basically the servers, which you can change at anytime. and the WvW pvp sounds really cool. say i get tired of questing and what not i can say "Hey I feel like helping my world and jumping into a huge war" thats friggin awesome. also someone talked about like Norn v. Char type wars. thats not how it works(at least from what I know from all the interviews) the wars are between the Worlds(aka servers) which means each side is a mix of playable races. i also saw some guy he said the he left GW to play WoW and all it did was force you to fight other players, well i just want to say you're an idoit because I played WoW for a godd 9-12 months and only had to fight other players when I solely chose to by going to a battlemaster. anyway back on topic GW2 is going to be an amazing game with a great mix of PvE and PvP and I can't wait till it comes out

well i love GW1 and am anxiously waiting GW2, and this article only makes me more so. I like the idea of a looser PvP because i am a huge PvE person and only seldomly dabble in PvP. Also in GW1 the h/h system was an interesting idea, i liked the ability to play when i wanted and not have to wait for a group. However i feel myself missing the ability to go out on my own, no people or NPCs, and doing my own work, not letting my group do it. I sincerely hope that what i read on GW2 wiki about the "companions" system is true and you can chose to be a loner if you want ;)

I am looking forward to Guildwars 2 but also hoping that we would be able to incorporate our Guidwars 1 characters to Guildwars 2. We would accept the change of environment and system requirements as long as we can bring over these characters we have played for over the years since Prophecy. More Power to Guildwars 2!

GWs2=Differnt World,different charcters,Everything will be different " LIKE A NEW GAME" .For That i know u can save only your Titles from GWs1 To GWs2

I think all of this stuff is interesting... But I remain un-happy with the proposals reguarding character transition in GW 2. Yes I know that it is supposed to take place hundredes of years later. And I also know that the new game will utilize completely new skill systems and spells. But I still wish to take at least one of my characters into the new game. Even if it means paying more. I want to take my favorite character into GW 2. As far as I am concerned she is imortal. I've purchased all the GW games and own one collectors edition. And I have played for hundreds of enjoyable hours building and conditioning my character. I will not abandon my character. Until the support I demand is offered I will not buy GW 2. Other than that I have no problems with the idea to upgrade everything in GW. And would very much like to see Tyria several hundred years later, but only with My Character...

i would like more detalis abour gw2 and how it is going to be like

For all the PvP hating groaners in this crowd, they have mentioned huge RP developments such as non-instanced gameplay, but without tripping over tons of people, no kill stealing still, and chain of events, like earthquake destroys city, over three days any character can protect caravans carrying supplies to the ruined ciy from bandits. if no-one helps, the city lies in ruins, and the bandits grow wealthy, going on raids all the time, you can stop them or.... you get the picture. and by the way, Pking sucks except in lame games like runescape which have no strategy content otherwise. (and ya can't even PK in runescape anymore!)

You Never know what guild wars 2 is going to be like until it comes out.......so dont complain just yet...nice suggestions that some of you have made though. like world pvp sounds like it would be awesome
but i dont want it to be like runescape where the game is based on player levels....if they raise the level cap than i think it should be no higher than 50 because a lot of people hate leveling their character up. and i do hope that we can bring our gw1 characters over to gw2 cuz i just dont think i can leave my characters behind unless it was easier to level up in gw2 i really hope so cuz leveling up is boring...if they have to raise the level cap to like 100 make it fun to level up please!!! i will probably end up quitting if i dont ever get to level 100 cuz i dont want it to be like wow where u have to be a certain level to get into a place...i know they do that for arenas and stuff but thats understandable. anyways i cant wait for the new game and i hope it turns out great! which i know it most likely will! Great Interview by the way!

The PC Gamer article has stated "You won't have the option to migrate characters from Guild Wars 1 to Guild Wars 2..." This is probably THE most desired feature among those who look at the transition from GW1 and GW2 with trepidation. I thought such a feature would be a no-brainer until I considered why Anet might not want us to transfer our GW 1 characters:

1) GW2 is suppose to take place hundreds of years in the future. All our beloved GW 1 characters would rightfully be dead.
2) GW2 is an entirely new and different game. Every GW player needs to re-learn the game mechanics and leveling new characters from scratch would teach us how the new system works.
3) Anet does not want GW2 to initially be flooded with high level characters. That would create a barrier for entry for those starting out in GW 2 who hadn't played the first game.

My proposal is for Ancestral Characters, a way to have our cake and eat it too

Addressing Problem #1: Temporal Anomaly
Hundreds of years into the future, Koss is dead, Devona is dead, and [insert favorite character's name] is--you guessed it, dead! But what is death to the heroes who closed the Door of Komalie, defeated Shiro the Betrayer, and slew a god? There is a place that exists for such legends, and it is called the Hall of Heroes, where the souls of those who have saved the world rest. In Tyria's bleakest hour, wouldn't the gods see fit to release these heroes of old so that they could bring salvation? A story of how the gods called upon ancient champions to assist mortals could be used to explain how GW 1 characters show up in Tyria hundreds of years after the events in Eye of the North.

Addressing Problem #2: Brave New World
Ok, so you have a level 20 character because you transfered your toon from GW 1, but you haven't the foggiest idea how to jump, slide, or hit a mob with your Ugly Stick. But wait... what if in order to transfer characters to GW 2 you must first commune with the gods and petition them for help! Anet could make sure GW 1 players go through all the proper tutorials and get their GW 2 training by requiring a native GW 2 character to reach a certain skill level before GW 1 characters can be transfered to that account.

Addressing Problem #3: No Pain, No Gain!
New Player: "Hey, how come you have a level 20 character just because you played GW 1, while I had to start my guy at level 1?"
Old Player: "Listen kid, before I could petition Balthazar for the aid of my ancestors, I had to prove I was worthy. I paid my dues, believe you me!"

The nearest great temple of Balthazar is at the edge of a volcano, guarded by scores of level 24 fire drakes, a level 35 Charr shaman boss, and the demon prince Menzies himself! Anet could require Herculean trials before allowing characters to be transfered from GW 1. If a native GW 2 character has to climb Mt. Doom to free his GW 1 ancestors, he himself would have to be high level, and by that time having access to level 20 characters would not be a big deal.

I am only guessing at the reasons why Anet does not plan to support character transfers from GW 1 to GW 2. However, whatever their reasons, I am sure they could be overcome. Please do not dismiss this request out of hand, this is at the top of the list of what your fans want!

I have been linking back to your article all over the place to make sure people read it! This was well done asking good questions and allowing for such lengthy answers! It made me really happy to read a lot of this information! Looking forward to more from you guys!

i want to know when beta starts but eh. oh well

for the people who said that pvp was forced upon them...no where does it state that you will be forced to pvp, its an option that provides bonus, so its up to the person playing if they want to join in the world pvp:) reading the interview helps

looks very promising both for pve players and pvp players and now that the level cap has been increased, players who enjoy playing pve have a longer storyline and pvpers will probably have more attributes available to them making it equally enjoyable for both. Also, like mentioned the interview, they had a concern of incorporating the pvp into the pve realm (not forced) because in guild wars 1, they were complete opposite (pvers hated pvp and pvpers hated pve). By using world pvp, they make it playable for both pvers and pvpers ...LOOKS VERY promising, exciting, I JUST HOPE THEY keep PVP the way it was (yes im a pvp player) the way it was, balanced and dependent on skill not equipment will be awesome...CANT WAIT TILL BETA TESTING :D:D:D counting down the months already

This was a great interview, gives some insight for Gw2.

I just hope that they learn from some mistakes in Gw 1. If they don't continue in the same skill balance, and economy of gw1 it will be better. Izzy can drive me crazy some days. They should have pvp only skills, and pve only skills to try to seperate the 2,as far as skill balance, but it is highly unlikly since Anet is Pro Pvp. Pvp has always been the favored out of Pvp and Pve, even in your rewards from either.

I hope they don't kill farming all together, they continue to be anti farming even if they say they are not. If you don't belive me look at " Party Loot Scale ", lowered drop rate for farming same spot, or Eotn only chest drops for completing a dungoen. So you have to be lucky to get a rare drop. Dungeons are not out posts so you have to fight to them. Killing solo farming in most dungeons. Ect.

The econonmy is so horrible its not even funny. I don't see how some people manage to play when you cant make much gold anymore.

As far as Pvp, I hope instead of just nerfing skills they just come out with a counter skill to balance it out. You know that the balance is bad when you are winning halls with the same balance build you won hall two years earlier.

i'm sure gonna spend 30min when i get GW2 when i'll be choosing a race... Damn!

i have a quetion wil you be to play with your charsacters from GW1? would be kinda weird to start al over again.

Does anyone have any idea when guild wars 2 will be coming out, I know in 2008 but which month? TYVM

You won´t be able to transfer character, although achievements in Hall of Monuments (or whatever) will be recorded and give *some* benefit.

And the beta is rumoured to be released in the latter half of 08. D: