Guild Wars 2 To Feature Immense Server Vs. Server Siege Warfare

As a popular alternative to World of Warcraft, Guild Wars managed to find its niche in the incredibly tough MMO market through its intense player vs. player combat. However, most of that combat was restricted to smaller brawls that seemed to have little outcome on the world at large. After listening closely to the fans, the developers of Guild Wars 2 have responded by giving the gamers exactly what they've been asking for: siege warfare.

Mike Ferguson, a system designer for Guild Wars 2, describes in a developer blog how the proposed combat will work. Absolutely massive maps are being created for each of the three teams to hold, known as the Borderlands, where the favored team gets a slight advantage. These three maps, capable of holding up to 100 players per faction, are then linked to a fourth neutral map, known as The Mists, where castle keeps can be conquered and held by all sides. While storming a castle sounds like no easy feat, several methods are being implemented to help players on both sides. Trebuchets, catapults, and even siege golems will be available to players to use in the onslaught. The native inhabitants of The Mists might even lend a hand, as well. For example, after helping the local ogre population defeat a rival clan, the now-friendly tribe will lend a few dedicated soldiers to the cause, or even send out a few elite patrols to help secure conquered territory.

The best part about all of this is that this isn't limited to end-game players, either. Players will be able to join the battle at any time, and at any level. After joining the fray, players will be temporarily bumped to level 80, so that everyone fights on a fair playing field. Mike Ferguson describes the bonuses: "You continue to gain experience and new items while playing in the Mists. Players you kill will drop loot for you just like slain monsters in PvE. The player that was killed doesn’t lose any of their own equipment—that would suck—so you’ll never need to worry about losing your favorite rare weapon if you are defeated in World vs World. Even better, any gear that is dropped for you will be level appropriate. You can improve your character’s weapons and armor as you fight!"

While no confirmed date is set yet for Guild Wars 2, the developers state that the game will be released in 2012. The game has already finished a closed beta test, and a larger beta test is just starting ! Keep checking back for more details!