The GuildMag Podcast

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DWdIIizUpw Episode 14 is here! This week we discuss the 2013 April Fool's joke - Super Adventure Box - as well as the Razing patch! Weekly News The Super Adventure Box is now open for the entire month of April. Check out the official announcement and release page. Got a question about the Super Adventure Box? ArenaNet has released an FAQ - click to view it. Braham's Story: Angel McCoy delves into Braham's personal lore. A recent official blog post discusses the ideas behind designing a living world - check it out here. There have been new additions to the Gem Store. Find out what they are, here. Main Discussion How amazing is the Super Adventure Box?! How has the story developed in the Razing? What's WvW like without culling? Does it impact PC performance much? Links to check out Ally's Twitter Rohan's Twitter Jason's YouTube channel & Twitter How to get involved We’re always looking for you to get involved in the podcast! Visit http://www.guildmag.com/involved to find out more information on how you can do this. Remember to use the comments system to send feedback on this episode! Theme tune created by Shew - thanks!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pt0cjSAXPuM This week's episode takes a look at the upcoming March patch for Guild Wars 2. Weekly News A preview post for Flame & Frost: The Razing has been released, which you can find here. Note that since recording the patch has gone live - find the patch notes here. An official post on upcoming WvW changes has been posted. Check it out here. Another official post concerning changes to guild missions, including a new type of bounty, has also been posted. Click the link for more info. Main Discussion What will The Razing patch bring? Speculation: what might the first April Fool's joke in Guild Wars 2 be? Check out this Reddit post for one possibility. Snaff rejoins Destiny's Edge - with a twist. Ally points out this funny Reddit post. Links to check out Ally's Twitter Rohan's Twitter Jason's YouTube channel & Twitter How to get involved We’re always looking for you to get involved in the podcast! Visit http://www.guildmag.com/involved to find out more information on how you can do this. Remember to use the comments system to send feedback on this episode! Theme tune created by Shew - thanks!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bko9SFhbr-g Come take a look at this week's Guild Wars 2 podcast, covering the latest news surrounding Guild Wars 2, including WvW culling and sPvP legendaries! Weekly News The end of culling in WvW approaches. Click for the official blog post. New to the Gem Store: Hoodies and Riding Clothes. More info here. Isaiah Cartwright speaks to Forbes on the complexity of current systems - read the article here. Colin Johanson suggests existence a sixth jungle-themed elder dragon in this Eurogamer interview. 'Big' patches may be a thing of the past as ArenaNet looks to release important features when they're ready. This and more from the latest Sate of the Game podcast. Main Discussion Will WvW culling work? Has the jungle dragon really been confirmed? Will we see more Maguuma soon? Links to check out Nameplates in Aion - will they be similar in GW2? Ally's Twitter Rohan's Twitter Jason's YouTube channel & Twitter How to get involved We’re always looking for you to get involved in the podcast! Visit http://www.guildmag.com/involved to find out more information on how you can do this. Remember to use the comments system to send feedback on this episode! Theme tune created by Shew - thanks!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WPBo0-E_Ls Join us in this week's podcast to take a look at the latest big patch to hit Guild Wars 2 - The Gathering Storm. Weekly News The Gathering Storm patch has gone live - here's the patch notes. Angel McCoy talks about the evolution of the Living Story on the Guild Wars 2 website. 31 days of Gem Store sales has begun! All the info can be found here. A new payment method - paysafecard - is now accepted in the Gem Store. More details here. The Gem Store now has new hair and eye colours, as well as backpack covers and an updated Black Lion Chest. Click to view the official announcement. In sPvP, Paid Tournments have been replaced by Free Tournaments. This comes from the official Guild Wars 2 website. Main Discussion How have our thoughts changed about the Living Story with the latest update? What else has this patch brought with it? Is there a possibility for a Canthan expansion in the future? Links to check out  Great Collapse = Canthan District in Divinity's Reach (part of our Canthan expansion discussion). Ally's Twitter Rohan's Twitter Jason's YouTube channel & Twitter How to get involved We’re always looking for you to get involved in the podcast! Visit http://www.guildmag.com/involved to find out more information on how you can do this. Remember to use the comments system to send feedback on this episode! Theme tune created by Shew - thanks!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0ImWyXoRwI This week we take a look at further developments with guild missions, as well as the Q&A lunch with Colin Johanson. We had a few microphone issues this week, but it'll all be fixed for next time! Check below for the show notes. Weekly News Bag and bank slots are 20% off until 26th Feb - more info here. ArenaNet has released some more news about guild missions - here's the official post. This week Colin Johanson sat down at a community lunch in London to answer a tonne of questions - GuildMag's summary can be found here. Main Discussion What's new with guild missions? What did the Q & A community lunch reveal? Links to check out Chronicles of Tyria Podcast: Episode 36 -  A Valiant Effort (Interview with Valiant!) Ally's Twitter  Rohan's Twitter Jason's YouTube channel & Twitter How to get involved We’re always looking for you to get involved in the podcast! Visit http://www.guildmag.com/involved to find out more information on how you can do this. Remember to use the comments system to send feedback on this episode! Theme tune created by Shew - thanks!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkjcNrg758g On this episode of Dynamically Spoken, we delve deeper into the upcoming patch The Gathering Storm, with new information from the last seven days. Check below for the show notes. Weekly News Spirit Watch, the new sPvP map, has been introduced over on the Guild Wars 2 website - check it out here. There have been additions to the Gem Store as part of Valentine's Day celebrations, including a bouquet of roses (available until the 18th Feb) and new red dye pack. All the details here.  Colin Johanson has denied rumours of an expansion, hours after we uploaded our last episode. The link was in the show notes last time, but in case you missed it, here it is. In the upcoming patch, item previewing will be added to the Trading Post. Here's the tweet we mentioned, and here's the official page on it.  MMORPG.com have recently interviewed Colin Johanson about the upcoming patch, gathering some new details on what it will bring. Read it here. Main Discussion What new information has been released about guild missions? Update on the pace of the Living Story, courtesy of The Egg Baron. Links to check out 2 & 1/2 Tyrian Girls podcast Ally's Twitter  Rohan's Twitter Jason's YouTube channel & Twitter How to get involved We’re always looking for you to get involved in the podcast! Visit http://www.guildmag.com/involved to find out more information on how you can do this. Remember to use the comments system to send feedback on this episode! Theme tune created by Shew - thanks!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puiQsihv5JY& We're back, and now on a weekly basis! With new hosts Ally and Jason, we discuss everything Flame & Frost, as well as expansion rumours. Check below for the show notes. Weekly News Flame & Frost: The Gathering Storm heads our way on 26th Feb 2013, with multiple new game features including a new PvP map and guild missions. Check out all the details here. Major WvW updates are being held off until March. Come then, we'll see a WvW progression system, new ranks visible to other players and more - all the details here. New video from the ArenaNet audio team. Click to view. Rumours of an expansion during the second half of this year, courtesy of Gamebreaker. Note: Since recording, ArenaNet has responded to these rumours and denied them. Full info here. Main Discussion What's the pace of Flame & Frost like? Speculation: where could the next parts of Flame & Frost be going? What would we like to see in an expansion? Links to check out Chronicles of Tyria Podcast - Ally's part of this one too! Jason's YouTube channel & Twitter - check them out for more of Jason's projects! How to get involved We’re always looking for you to get involved in the podcast! Visit http://www.guildmag.com/involved to find out more information on how you can do this. Remember to use the comments system to send feedback on this episode! Theme tune created by Shew - thanks!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdY55-m5BS4 The second part of our overall review is here - and in a new video format too! Once again, Steven and I are joined by Ally to round up our thoughts on Guild Wars 2 overall (especially it's higher level content). In this episode, our topics of discussion cover: Is there an 'endgame' in Guild Wars 2? Are dungeons too hard? What awesome gear is available to you at level 80? Are dynamic events in Orr as orr-some (awesome) as we were told? Links to check out Legendary weapons crafting guide | Guild Wars 2 Guru How to get involved We’re always looking for you to get involved in the podcast! Visit http://www.guildmag.com/involved to find out more information on how you can do this. Remember to use the comments system to send feedback on this episode! Theme tune created by Shew - thanks!

It’s party time! We’ve been playing non-stop through the Guild Wars 2 Headstart. Steven and I are joined by Ally from our second episode to share our initial experiences about Guild Wars 2. In our next episode we’ll round off our review of Guild Wars 2 by looking at the higher level content. P.S. we got a new logo too! In this episode, our topics of discussion cover: Steven turns into a variety of noisemakers (and names one of them wrongly!). Compelling personal storylines & tough decisions. PvE vs WvW levelling speeds - which is quicker? Guild Wars 2 will change the way you play Legendary gear Continuing server issues & bugs Links to check out Performance benchmarks, mentioned by Steve Legendary great swords video Bug exploit blog post Ally’s awesome dance video How to get involved We’re always looking for you to get involved in the podcast! Visit http://www.guildmag.com/involved to find out more information on how you can do this. Remember to use the comments system to send feedback on this episode! Theme tune created by Shew - thanks!  

As always, Steven and I are here to share our thoughts on Guild Wars 2. For this episode, we’re joined by Verene from Under the Pale Tree! This time around we discuss our thoughts on the third and final beta weekend event. In this episode, our topics of discussion cover: Sylvari and asura - playable at last! Cube surfing off Rata Sum. Will the game be ready in a month? Issues with dynamic events. ArenaNet’s attention to detail. Links to check out Under the Pale Tree Blog carnival: Five Years of Waiting for Guild Wars 2 Age of Deceit - Thalador’s epic fan fiction Video: Underwater organ Item preview screenshots Video: CPR sharks Video: Running backpack Media The creepy shadow under Rata Sum (click to enlarge): 'Proof' that levitation is possible in Guild Wars 2 (click to enlarge): How to get involved We’re always looking for you to get involved in the podcast! Visit http://www.guildmag.com/involved to find out more information on how you can do this. Remember to use the comments system to send feedback on this episode! Theme tune created by Shew - thanks!

Welcome to the episode four of Dynamically Spoken! This time around, Steven and I are joined by Cigs and Azshene from Team Paradigm. Our fourth episode is all about exploring PvP in Guild Wars 2 from a more structured perspective. We’re also holding a competition for 10 beta keys for the upcoming beta as part of GuildMag’s beta key giveaway. Listen to the start of episode 4 below for details on how to take part. This contest closes on July 16th 5pm GMT. In this episode our topics of discussion cover: General PvP thoughts - what’s Conquest as the primary PvP mode like? How does Guild Wars 2’s PvP compare to that of other MMOs? It’s not all about gear Are all professions viable? Return to the ‘does size matter’ debate Links to check out Team Paradigm Cigs' article on gaming communities How to get involved We’re always looking for you to get involved in the podcast! Visit http://www.guildmag.com/involved to find out more information on how you can do this. Remember to use the comments system to send feedback on this episode! Theme tune created by Shew - thanks!

Welcome to the next episode of Dynamically Spoken! As always, Steven and I are joined by a guest speaker; this time Sly Lasko from LootJunkie! Our third episode is all about uncovering exactly how ArenaNet are making Guild Wars 2 the herald of next-generation MMOs - and this time we actually reached our target of 40 minutes! In this episode our topics of discussion cover: The ArenaNet blog post on making Guild Wars 2 fun - how is this impacting us? Removing the grind and how you can help achieve this Wasted content pre-end game MOBA players and combat? Yes please! Guild Wars 2’s e-sports potential Links to check out ArenaNet’s blog post on making Guild Wars 2 fun Steven’s forum link LootJunkie How to get involved We’re always looking for you to get involved in the podcast! Visit www.guildmag.com/involved to find out more information on how you can do this. Remember to use the comments system to send feedback on this episode! Theme tune created by Shew - thanks!

The second episode of Dynamically Spoken is here! I’m Rohan (AKA Valiant) and I’m joined once again by Steven (AKA GettCouped) who’s become our second permanent host, as well as Ally, our guest speaker. We’re talking about the second Beta Weekend Event and in this episode some topics of discussion include: PvE Dynamic events - do they get better at higher levels? Changes to the UI Crafting WvW New underground jumping puzzle When one world dominates, is it fun anymore? Don’t just follow the mob - get disrupting! PvP Being in a party in PvP Media Ally's screenshot of a creepy old woman (click to enlarge):              Steven's video of the BWE2 finale event (click to view) Links to check out Guild Wars 2 Gossip (Ally’s blog) Loot Junkie (Both Steven and I will be guesting on one of their upcoming episodes - keep your eyes out!) How to get involved We’re always looking for you to get involved in the podcast! Visit www.guildmag.com/involved to find out more information on how you can do this. Remember to use the comments system to send feedback on this episode! Theme tune created by Shew - thanks!

The debut of Dynamically Spoken is here! I’m Rohan (aka Valiant) and I’m joined by our first ever two guest speakers; Jason from The Vigilant and Steven (aka GettCouped). In this episode, we discuss all things Beta Weekend Event. Our topics of discussion cover: PvE Dynamic events and renown hearts - revolutionary or just refreshing? Overflow servers Player’s complaints about weapon skills Lag and game optimisation - Steven's hardware specs: High end desktop PC: Intel 2500 K @ 4.5 GHz AMD Radeon HD 7950 3 GB OC @ 1000/1500 16 GB Corsair Dominator DDR3 1866 MHz OCZ Vertex 3 240GB GPU Overclock from 950/1250 – 1000/1500 – 1150/1500 – little to no FPS change CPU Overclock from 3.7 (factory turbo) to 4.5 – 10 FPS change (50-60)!! CPU bound game for ATI cards. HP DV6 Laptop: AMD A8-3500M APU 6620G GPU on die (Recommend 6630M) 4 GB  1333 MHz Very low FPS GPU utilization spiking to 100% from 0% CPU utilization ~ 35% Low end desktop PC: AMD Athlon X2 6000 @ 3 GHz Nvidia GeForce 6600 GT 128MB 4 GB Corsair DDR2 800 MHz Unplayable not enough frame buffer – video would freeze, but sound would continue to play The beauty of the game WvW Something for everyone? Level up your way PvP Does size matter? How race affects your experience of PvP. - Steven's screenshots (click to enlarge): PvP strategies Links to check out Skritt Thinking (courtesy of Jason) The Vigilant blog (again, courtesy of Jason) Remember, we’re always looking for your input! Use the comments system to give feedback on this episode, email us with any questions or comments you have for future episodes or become a guest speaker by sending an email with a 30 second voice clip talking about yourself - and you could appear on episode two! Dynamically Spoken theme tune created by Shew - thanks!

While there was much speculation going on after yesterday’s release of another possible profession announcement, ArenaNet today overwhelmed us with what I find some very cool stuff. The profession release? The Ranger of course, alongside its trusty pet! First off, the Ranger has received numerous new weapon possibilities. You now can throw axes, swords, use a fire torch or call upon the nature and their inhabitants. Pets Since your character history is not in an empty state in Guild Wars 2, you will now have the choice between three pre-determined (via your personal story) pets to your disposal. Of course you will have the possibility to change these pets later on, by charming other animal, but you can only have three active animals to choose from. (The moa farm will probably fill up quite fast!) When you’re about to charm a new animal, you have plenty of choices, because there will be 12 different types of pets, some of which are terrestrial e.g. spiders, some are amphibious e.g. lizards, and some are aquatic e.g. sharks. Within these types different subtypes of pets exist too(ex: polar bear or brown bear) these will enhance the pets’ abilities accoridingly. No longer will you need to start over training your pet (although sometimes, it was fun doing so) as it will level alongside with you and will rise in attack, armor and health as it grows. This will go as far as the evolution level of 20(Attention: this is not the max lvl for players themselves (50 or more)). When a pet reaches a certain level, it will enable the player to slot it with four pet abilities based on the pet type which will allow for a much grander customization as with its predecessor. Another improvement over the original Guild Wars is the way you can command your pets. Where in the original Guild Wars pets got a boost similar to heroes with an Attack, Guard and Heel option, you can now order your pet to: Attack (‘attack my target’), Heel (‘Come to me’) and Stay (‘Do not move’). Instead of giving specific commands each time, you can also set set an ongoing behavioral for your pet: Aggressive (‘Attack what I’m attacking’), Defensive (‘Attack enemies that attack me’) and Passive (‘Don’t Attack’). Oh boy, how do I want to charm a shark right now or wear one of those fancy Ranger armors! Skills & Weapons The Ranger is all about pets, but next to pets, a ranger is known for his bow, or at least, it was until Guild Wars 2. Examples given on the skill types a ranger has are the following: Traps – In Guild Wars there were skills that a player would set by kneeling on the floor, in Guild Wars 2, the ranger will be using a new kind of weapon, a torch. As seen in the Skill video below, the ranger sets the ground burning and then, when triggered, it can shoot arrows through and lit them up. Spirits – No, no these are not the spirits of the wild, often connected with the Norn, in comparison these are but a fragment of these powers, although still very powerful. A spirit often boosts your attacks, the Sun Spirit for example, makes your fire attacks extra fiery and thus extra strong, but also to other attacks of other allies. As in the original Guild Wars, spirits are active for a set amount of time (possibly enhanced by your level) and wander off when the time reaches its limit, the ranger runs away, or an enemy kills the spirit. All in all, the Ranger can use the following kind of weapons: Main hand: Sword, Axe Off hand: Axe, Dagger, Torch and Warhorn Two-handed: Greatsword, longbow and a Shortbow All in all I’m very impressed with how they gave the Ranger a bit of a new flavor and went with a refreshing approach for him/her. I’m really looking forward to how this will turn out. Perhaps a ranger may be in my range of professions I’ll use this time around.