whats really important on this blog

ok...
1st up!
sorry if i've ticked anyone off.
now
here's what i think.

I want this to be a place where we post stuff.
Am I posting useless crap, no one is interested in? If so, I'll cut it back.
My comments about the labels, were simply because it does create issues with functionality. If you're only going to post with the labels the way they've been - keep them that way - its more important to have a blog going, than have a clean blog going - if people are not going to use it.

i'm a little sick of comments not being posted though. It would be good if we acknowledge each others posts more often than not... yeah?

thats all... please us this - we've been going great guns - i'd hate for a dialectic between anal retentive attitudes and a "I'll take my bat all ball and go home"ness, to stop it.
thats all

not too smelly

a bit of humour in the game is always nice (mind you - i want to be that elementalist in factions - Kai Ying - the one with all the terrible puns)
anyways... check out the asura titles

Get em out....spread the love!

Hey guys,

I reckon it owuld be good if we post a picture of our titles of status...eg you know when you press H and look at that title section and it shows a list of everything you are going for? We should post that from our main character me= Zahran Ian=Xyla Cop=The Stamp Mick =Maisa

Just so we get a feel for where we all are.
Anyway just some thoughts.

the norn identity

sneak peak weekend went well
here's xyla flashing her norn titles - they really suit warriors, paragons, dervishes, assasins and rangers better (in that order). But, she'll take it for now...

i need your help

in my last post i alluded to heroes and the hall of monuments
basically - you can only add a hero to your monument if they have upgraded armor
so...
i would like to have a crack at this some tuesdays
the challenege missions give you the pieces - not sure about in GW:EN, but thats how it works in NF.
In particular - I want to get at least 2 more from Dajkah Inlet (hopefully 3) and then I want to hit the shadow nexus. You can also do upgrades in the domain of anguish and from the remains of sahlajah, but they are either not challenge related - or individual challenges.

so yeah - a couple more cracks at dajkah would be cool for now.

norn fighting tournament

maybe this should be posted by mick
i havent had a run at it yet, but the norn fighting tournament looks awesome
one of the cool things is that you unlock 2 of the competitors as heroes whn you beat them
Xandra (ritualist) and Kahmu (dervish).

I think I will compete to unlock these 2 in particular - i want to have 25 heroes in my monument of fellowship - but at the moment, I will only have 2. hmmm...

this post contains nornographic material

hows that for a pun?

so, the norn are like the rugby league players of guild wars - they're meat heads.

you have a skill and weapon both entitled club of a thousand bears but the real beauty lies in the shouts they offer.
my faves are
I am the Strongest
I am Unstoppable
You are all weaklings
Dodge this
and i think the best
You move like a dwarf

from looking at the skill aligned with the new titles it is pretty clear that some favour certain classes more than others - norn skills really work best for mellee, while the asura are more caster oriented. Mind you, Mick, if you're ever interested in putting together a ranger/necro touch build "you move like a dwarf" would really kick (also nice for assassins).

you obtain some of these thru quests - ymlad for example comes from worthy deeds (done dirt cheap)

all these skills change their attributes based on your title in norn allegiance (like sunspear skills).

come on people!

after reading some of the latest posts by someone in particular i have to crack it!

we now have 45 categories listed in our blog.
i was trying to reduce these to make it functional, and relevant
if i'm the only one that cares about functionality, then oh well, we'll keep the ridiculous list
do we really need...

festival of lyss - could this go under "missions"
moddock crevice - could this go under "missions"
monday or tuesday - could this go under "general"
pathfinder - could this go under "explorer status"
plans and team priorities could be the same thing?
random thoughts - could this go under "general"
skill capping - could this go under "skills" and/or "session reports"
superstitions - could this go under "general"
swopsies - could this go under "this week I want to..."
Title and titles - come on people, check before you post
yohlon haven - could this go under "towns and outposts"
winner - could this go under "competitions"
and
going to the toilet - could this go under "copland is a tool"

now... let me say, that i like to have things neat and funtional.
and... i dont mind cleaning it up - again.
and... i will (if you want) but dont be absolute far keds and with your next posts add 8 labels that are all stupid (you know who you are)
I've taken the time to post this, cause the messiness bugs me...

also.. last question - copland, would you like me to clean up your pics that you post that wont crop properly on your computer, or are you happy how they are

thankyou all...

Great skill name...

This skill is named after the MC Hammer song U Can't Touch This. Note the icon for the skill appears to be wearing Parachute Pants, which MC Hammer notably wore in the music video.

If there's a path to find, I'm your man!

Very superstitious...

So, I have noticed that I tend to have a few little game superstitions when I play. For example, I only bank in 1K lots. If I do a run and score 1.123G I will only bank the 1k. The rest stays in my inventory, until it makes it up to the 1000...or 2000, or whatever. But I only bank in whole thousands.

Another one that I have is when capping a skill, I have to make sure all the monsters in the area are dead, not just the boss. I don't like to have pressure on me when capping (or when crapping, for that matter, but that's a story for another day and a different blog!).

So, these are just 2 of the little superstitions that I have about the game.

What, don't look at me like that! I'm sure YOU have a few as well...

That's committment

Last night Caine and I made our assult on the Moddock Crevice (Master's Reward). It took us a few goes (maybe 7 or more...) but in the end we got there and it was a sweet, sweet victory.

It reminded me of what GW is all about; putting in the hard yards, tweaking your strategy until you get it just right and working with a mate to get something done that you couldn't do yourself.

Just in case I'm sounding overly sentimental, let me finish with this...

Caine's a bastard, because he got a gold drop and a white dye...and I got nothing!

What's the plan, Stan?

I know not everyone always responds to the things we blog about, but I would really apprecite an answer on this one, thanks.

So, I have been debating what the future of GW looks like for me. I've played it out in my head a few times and even discussed it with each of you (though it was while playing, so I didn't really get anywhere!).

After much prayer and fasting, I have determined the following...

After I finish Nightfall I am going to take The Stamp over to Factions and finish that too, before I move on to GW:EN. There...I've said it!

I am probably around 2/3 of the way through NF, and then I will make my assult on Factions. I figure it'll take me about 3 months if you guys are with me, 4 if I do it by myself, until I can play GW:EN with a clear conscience and an open heart. To do this right, I have to finish the 3 chapters of the game that I already have.

What does 'finishing' the game require? Basically a protector title and as close as I can get to grand master cartographer without going mental (a la Mick Nelson) is what I will be happy with. Its no small task, but then again, I'm no small man!

Your thoughts?

the latest header

so... what do you think?
yes... it took me ages
and my trial and error html is always a hoot... yay!?!?

anyways, i like this because i can add and change things easily whenever we like

i can change the colour from sepia to normal colour or something else if you like
i can change either font reasonably easily also
i can add any other photos... best way to go is post it on here and tell me what you want from it in the header
cool?

hope you like it

Ta da!

New cape...

Which one?

a.

b.

dont take it too seriously

here's a sample for our new blog banner

tell me...
what sort of look do we want to go for?
the only thing i really like about this one is NWA written big, with noobs with attitude underneath it.
also, the fade in and out to black works well from a design perspective.
thoughts?

new name, new cape?

something else to think about
the wiki article might be helpful...
its the 8th one down 3 in... or whatever...

The Best Mission Ever

Well, I have just had a go at the Festival of Lyss mission . Its great fun, and it was cool. Unfortunately I died just before killing the last Skree (not that its hard, I was just being slack I guess). Its cool though, I would have had to do it again anyway, as I failed the bonus thanks to this punk...

Great mission! One of those great GW moments that reminds me why I love this game so much.

I'm over anatomy of death and want a name change

from what i can gather
mick and caine - are you ambivilent? just dont care...
and copland, you do care...
and dave? do you read this?

please comment - you know how many comments my posts get - not many

if my info is true, then maybe copland and i (together) should just bring 1 or 2 names to the rest of you, and then go from there...
thoughts?

some suggestions?

giuld of typos
the mispronounciators
an autonomous collective
guild wars ate my baby (maybe not)

Fahranur

(the first city)
So, I had some time to kill last night, couldnt sleep and thought hey, I might flesh my map out, have a crack at the vanquish and get some gold and sunspear points while i'm there...
so i did!
If you start at Blacktide Den you get to take a party of 8. Couldnt have done it from Jokanur Diggings - theres one bit where yoyur up against 12 or so ridgeback scales... crazy!
I've got a map screenshot, but I'm at work - i will delete this line if i get round to posting the map here...

Im on my way.....

Hey peeps here is my latest....

Enjoy

yes... its even more on eye of the north

flicking thru the wiki page on eye of the north (which you will find here) i found some rather interesting info - new things anyways...
as well as being able to score point towards a title with the asura, norn and deldrimor there is also another bunch - who i think are human - the ebon vangaurd.

of the 10 heroes the breakdown is like this (class, race/alliance, name)
Warrior - Norn - Jora
Ranger - Charr - Pyre Fierceshot
Monk - Deldrimor - Ogden Stonehealer
Necromancer - Shining Blade - Livia
Mesmer - Human - Gwen
Elementalist - Asura - Vekk
Assasin - Ebon Vangaurd - Anton
Ritualist - Luxon - Xandra
Paragon - Shining Blade - Hayda
Dervish - Human - Kahmu

I imagine that they are not going to be easy to obtain - otherwise there wouldnt be a spot in the hall of monuments for them. yeah?

here's a pic of Vekk, the funky lookin asura

interest rates up...

means more money required to pay the bills...
hang on! we've got the skills to pay those bills

check out a listing of known GW:EN skills here
there's some gold there - i mainly checked out domination and curses
there's also a new condition - cracked armor

so close you can taste it...

all the info in this post comes from here (in the video)

there are 5 monuments in the hall of monuments
heres what they are and what they record

monument to honour - recognises titles earnt as well as other achievements such as finishing a campaign (i guess that means without bonuses)
monument to valour - display all the Eye of the North only weapons you have obtained
monument to resilience - display ascended armor from the 1st 3 campaigns.
monument to fellowship - a monument to all the heroes and animal companions you have had in the game
monument to devotion - display all your minatures

you can invite other people in to check out you hall - so when we all get there, im keen to check out everyones... will be cool...

im just a little disappointed that there's no "monument to falmbouyance (spelt wrong)" to display all your dyes!!

a challenge looms

i had to stop and check after playing for a short time (like 2 hours) tonight, that it wasnt a triple dye drop weekend.
I'm not sure if I'm there yet, cause i'm thinking that mick, you'll have had some lately too...
so... not yet, but soon

so, if i challenge and lose do i have to give mick something? surely thats fair...
i have a couple of mergoyle skulls lying around

So, we changing our name or what?

well... are we?

Little sumtun sumthun

Hey peeps,

Congrats and all honour and glory to our "Grandmaster" who has opened our eyes from the clouds that covered the world in which we play.

Had a good 'session' today and scored three titles in one session.

Its no "grandmaster" but it was a nice bit of game play.

Till next time

Peace

Seems like the classy thing to do is not draw attention to it...

2 years ago a young ranger set out into the world of Ascalon. Looking only to impress a few of the weirdly attractive village girls with his 'arrow' skills, he soon found himself swept into a great war, one that would decimate his homeland.

Over time, he discovered various skills, made new friends (and enemies) and explored lands far far away.

But a desire to discover all he could about his home continent soon led to this young but wisened ranger learning a mysterious technique known to the grand masters as 'scraping'.

Destiny waits for no man. Over time, many discoveries were made in the 'thrill of the chase', while others dared to question whether such a task was worthy of such a great ranger.

Eventually those who would sit in the seat of mockers were made to reflect on the motivation behind their scoffing as this now mighty ranger was inducted into an exclusive club where each member was given the ancient yet powerful title of:

Tyrian Grand Master Cartographer

Not even the threat of shrinkage could stop this ranger throwing off the gear and cheering. Maisa Trueshot truly was on top of the world.

A lesson from the past...

When I was in high school I used to walk home everyday with a guy from my year named Mark Phillips. In year 8 we both started smoking. We would smoke Camel unfiltered cigarettes and drink Pepsi, those one litre plastic bottles with the extra wide mouth (whatever happened to them??).

Anyway, by the time we were in year eleven I had pretty much quit smoking, but Mark was a full blown druggie, smoking all sorts of crap and doing other more serious drugs as well.

We started our journey into drugs together, walking home each day, cutting through the back alleys...but somewhere along the line, we took different paths.

As I think about the Tyrian Cartographer Title, I get the same feeling as I did in year eleven about Mark Phillips. Michael and I started out together, clearing out some map here and there, scanning bigger maps for extra spots, even running missions just for the thrill of that extra few percentage points.

But now I fear that we have parted ways, that something bigger has taken hold of Michael, and the Michael I once knew, the Michael who's biggest dream was to get 60%...well, that Michael is gone.

My hang, my crib, the place where I kick it...

So, I have found that in every campaign there are one or two particular towns or outposts that I use a lot. These are the places I will go to to do my business, as it were.

I find they are small, but not too small. They have a merchant and a storage chest in close proximity to each other, as well as a skills merchant that sells skill caps.

Yohlon Haven is my new fave place to hang in Nightfall. It has all the things a good hng should have, without a lot of annoying trading or so many people that loading in takes ages.

Yohlon Haven, the convenience store of Guild Wars.

The Stamp - Sunspear Castellan

from beknur to kodlonu

so, I thought I'd kill a few birds with one stone today...
I wanted to open up my nightfall map a little - so I thought I'd "run" from beknur harbor to kodlunu hamlet. I didnt have kodlonu at all so I needed to get there - the passage is issnur isles.
Then I thought - "hey, why dont I do it in hard mode, vanquish the sucker and get some gold while I'm there"
So... thats what I did!
I had to kill 343 monsters to clear the map! But I got 4 bounties on the way and I'm now over 21,000 in sunspear points and have over 28k in storage - i think thats a personal best (I added just under 5 from this one session). Maybe getting enough gold together to buy some elite (or ascended) armor in nightfall isnt out of the question. I think vanquishing is a little easier in nightfall than it is in prophesies.
Here's the map

bosses branded

oh well we missed out
check out the list here

i particularly like
Molotov Rocktail
and
Gallow Noosenitter

Name change?

A rose by any other name would smell as sweet...

Ian and I were discussing the possibility of a guild name change. Our original plan to have our names tie in with our guild name has fallen by the wayside...and perhaps it was a little too restrictive. So, I am proposing a name change. If we change before we buy our guild hall it won't cost us much.

Your thoughts?

Something a bit more general and inclusive, that doesn't rely on us sticking to any one theme would be good.

Ian has suggested "The Mispronuciators" (did I get that right, Ian?). My tastes are a little more conservative...how about something like "The Fighting Hellfish" (Grandpa Simpson's company in the Vietnam War).

I feel like some guild titles are a bit too restrictive...for example..

The Moody Blues (everyone dyes their armor blue)
King and Country (everyone has 'Sir' in their name)
Fishers of Men (everyone in the guild is a Christian - this is a real guild!)
Ranger Danger (all the characters are rangers - also a real guild)
Geek/Nerd Wars (this is what Sally call us, thanks Sal!)

Hey, do you think there's a character called Osama Bin Laden already? I wonder...

And the winner is...

Michael (aka Maisa Trueshot) is the winner of our first ever guild title - Collector of Dye.

Michael, you prize is....

Kole's Gauntlet is a Unique Item dropped by The Darknesses in the Ruins of the Tomb of the Primeval Kings. It used to belong to King Kole, one of the ancient monarchs buried in the Tomb of the Primeval Kings.

Weapon stats
Grim Cesta
Energy +12 (req. 9 Soul Reaping)
Reduces Poison duration on you by 20%
Health +30

Please remember everyone, that you can challenge for the title at any time, and at that time only the challenger and the current title holder must place their current score and dye breakdown on the blog. Good luck!