There was an interesting podcast interview up on RelicsofOrr with Game Designer John Stumme that has some interesting tidbits for all the Guild Wars fans out there. Karate Jesus gives us a recap:

• We'll be visiting Cantha after Keiran+Gwen is resolved. September was mentioned, but he also said they're a bit behind.
• He talks about seeing the ramifications of releasing Palawa Joko.
• Sounds like some GvG changes are coming.
• Dervish skill changes are being worked on. Trying to make it more fun to play.
• One issue with 7 hero teams was pvp teams of 1 person and 7 heroes. Talks about 7 hero teams not hurting anyone, and how hard some WiK stuff was with henchmen. He's open to 7 hero teams, but says they're working on something new involving heroes.
• There are new items in the works.
• There will be new consumables.
• Like to make new festivals.
• Paragon is currently probably going to be the class focused on after Dervish.
• Not aware of any plans as to what GW1 is going to be called after GW2 comes out. ("Guild Wars" or "Guild Wars original", etc)
• [He would] love to add new stuff to festivals. Personal fan of Halloween.

You can hear the entire interview here. But we have an interesting update on it from Community Manager, Regina: All: I just want to emphasize that some of what John is talking about in the interview is not planned, so for example please don't go thinking you'll get 7 Hero parties in the future just because John says he is open to them. Thanks. . Head over to our forum thread for all the talk: Upcoming GW:B Work.

News from GuildWars.com: Summer Events In this edition of Community News, you're invited to party with Forever Knights, and GuildMag has extensive War in Kryta coverage. Head over here to read more!

Hi folks,

We've got some pretty exciting news for you today, regarding the future of GuildWarsGuru and GuildWars2Guru: As of a couple of weeks ago ownership of these sites was transferred to Curse - the largest owner of MMO news and fansites around. We now join the ranks of other top notch fansites like AionSource WarhammerAlliance, TERA Fans, and many more.

I'll cut right to the question on many of your minds right now: "What does this new authoritarian regime of robot overlords mean for me?"

In the short term we're focusing on organization and planning, so you wont see a huge amount change. Sometime in the near future we will shift over to the Curse servers which should result in more consistent performance (yay). Past that we're looking at a load of software upgrades, expanding our staff, and increasing our coverage and content.

We already have a few new faces on the forum:

DoranM: The Director of Content at Curse. Amongst many other responsibilities he manages their fansites, and is quarterbacking the transition process.

Kvinna: Some of you may recognize Kvinna from AionSource. She is a very welcome addition to the administration team, and a huge fan of the Guild Wars franchise.

Alexia: Alexia is the resident PHP ninja and server administrator. He will be making sure the technical side of the transition goes without a hiccup, and ultimately in charge of maintaining the site's back end.

Future plans aside, the manpower and experience we gain is going to be of huge benefit to us, particularly with the coming rush on Guild Wars 2. Add to that the stability and scalability provided by the technical stuff behind the curtains, and the future is looking pretty peachy for all of us.

I know there will be lots of questions about the future of the site, and how the new involvement with Curse will affect us. Curse wanted the Guru community for a reason, we've developed something special here and have been proud to call it our home for years, and with their backing and support it's only going to get better.

If you have questions or concerns about any of this feel free to post in the forum thread, or drop me, Inde, Kattar or Kvinna a PM on the forum.

- JR

News from GuildWars.com:

 

Planned Outage - UPDATED - August 11, 2010

The planned move of the Guild Wars live database for Tuesday, August 10th, has been postponed to Wednesday August 11th, 2010. This was done to ensure that the process meets our high standards for quality.

On Wednesday, August 11th, we will be moving the Guild Wars live database to a new data center. This will require a temporary interruption in service beginning at 12:01AM Pacific time on that date. Service may be suspended for up to 24 hours, although we will do everything we can to expedite the process. Thank you in advance for your patience and understanding during this rare interruption!

News from GuildWars.com:

 

July GvG Tournament Results
In July tournament news, Whats Going On [sup] defeated Good Tactics [Good] to become this month's GvG champions. Congratulations to all of our competing guilds! For the complete list of this month's rankings, head over here.

It's a new month, so the Zaishen Chest now offers a new tonic. Using keys will give you the chance to net yourself a Trapdoor Tonic, which will transform you into a spider! To see the full tonic schedule, check out our Zaishen Rewards Calendar.

News from GuildWars.com:

 

Wintersday in July

Summer is heating up, so don't miss the chance to chill out at our Wintersday in July celebration! The festivities start today at noon PST and last until 11:59 PM PST on Sunday. Head over to our event page to find out the rest of the details.

News from GuildWars.com:

 

The Battle for Lion's Arch Ends the War in Kryta!
Months of warfare and suffering have lead to this one final battle between the diabolical White Mantle and the rebel Shining Blade for the fate of Kryta! Take up arms against the oppressors and make history in this climactic clash, which is now available in-game. Learn more about the epic War in Kryta here!

 

June GvG Tournament Results

In this month's tournament news, Inadequately Retired [GoLd] claimed victory Russisches Quellwasser Vod [ka] to become our June GvG champions. We'd like to extend our congratulations to all of our competitors! For the complete list of this month's GvG rankings, head over here.

Since it's a new month, the Zaishen Chest will offer a new tonic. Use those keys for a chance to find a Boreal Tonic, which will allow you to transform yourself into a norn! To see the full tonic schedule, check out our Zaishen Rewards Calendar.

News from GuildWars.com:

Community: For Your Eyes and Ears

Learn about GuildMag's latest issue and their podcast in this edition of Community News!

News from GuildWars.com:

Community: Party in Shing Jea!

Gaming World Entertainment Network celebrates their website launch in Shing Jea Monastery, and Calaval Elwvyan has some cool videos to share in the latest edition of Guild Wars Community News!

News from GuildWars.com:

Summer Fun at the Dragon Festival

It's almost time for the Dragon Festival, the annual celebration of the rebirth of the Empire of the Dragon from the devastation of the Jade Wind. Travel to distant Cantha and join the festivities in the Shing Jea Monastery from July 1st to July 4th, where you'll find games of chance, rollerbeetle races, holiday quests and treats, and a visit from the Emperor himself!

Explore the wonders of the Dragon Festival here!

News from GuildWars.com:

 

Live Update: War in Kryta and GvG Changes

The focus of today's live update is the ongoing conflict in Kryta, but we've also made several changes that address issues in GvG.

To read detailed notes about today's update, head over here. For more information about changes made to GvG and an update on where we're at with upcoming skill balance builds, check out this month's developer's update.

News from GuildWars.com:

 

Community: World Cup Mania and More!
Our German and French communities have some great updates, including a World Cup themed contest from Wartower and a chronicle of the War in Kryta from the French site Univers Virtuels! Find out about these and more in Community News!

 

We'd like to welcome everyone to our Diablo3Guru.com site! If you are looking forward to the upcoming Blizzard sequel for Diablo than you are going to want to head over and check out all the latest news and participate in the community there. This is a website dedicate to Diablo 2 and Diablo 3 so if you're a fan of Diablo 2 than this also suits your needs for Guides, Community, Trade and more! Stop by today and Introduce yourself.

News from GuildWars.com:

 

May GvG Tournament Results

May's GvG tournament has concluded, and we have the results! This month, Get Good [GG] defeated The Marvel Superheroes [MSH] to claim the championship. For the complete list of this month's GvG rankings, head over here.

The start of a new month means that the Zaishen Chest will offer a new tonic. Make Zinn proud by using those Zaishen Keys for a chance to find June's Automatonic! To see the full tonic schedule, check out our Zaishen Rewards Calendar.

GuildCast is Back!

Shawn Schuster's 'GuildCast' podcast has returned after a two year hiatus!





Shawn left GuildCast to concentrate on his gaming journalism career in early 2008. He's now the Editor-in-Chief at Massively.com, and his co-host is the Guild Wars Lead at Massively Rubi Bayer. They're incredibly passionate about Guild Wars and Guild Wars 2, and what better way to show it than bringing back their popular podcast!



Check out GuildCast over on there website, here!

Design Director James Phinney on the Recent Account Bans

The community wanted a response to the issue of botting, and boy did they get it. James Phinney posted an entry on ArenaNet's blog today, talking about the measures they have taken and the improvements they have made. 2,700 accounts banned, and more staff available to deal with the issue in future... I could go on, but this quote really says it all:

"If you have any doubts about whether or not something is allowed by the User Agreement, don’t do it. Don’t take that risk. Account termination means losing not only everything you’ve built up in Guild Wars, but losing the ability to have those accomplishments recognized in Guild Wars 2. Let me give you a real example from today. Here’s an actual account we just terminated: 2,469 hours, 38 titles, 913 plat, 268 ecto, Eternal Legendary Vanquisher monument, Mini Gwen, Chaos Gloves, Mallyx’s Strife, The Holy Avenger, etc., etc. It’s all gone now. Forever. You will not want that to happen to your account."

Read the rest of that blog entry here.

Guild Mag releases their first issue!

The Guild Mag team have just released the first issue, and they've definitely come out swinging. Amongst other things this issue contains a Q&A with ArenaNet's Ree Soesbee, a fantastic article on the various dragons in the Guild Wars universe, some great fan-art, and much more.

Check out their website and download the magazine here, and head over to the forum to comment!

News from GuildWars.com:

 

April GvG Tournament Results

In April GvG tournament news, Chipotle Mexican Bar And Grill [Inc] claimed victory over Seppuku Paradigm [AA] to become our champion guild of the month. For a complete list of this month's GvG rankings, head over here.

Since it's a new month, the Zaishen Chest will offer a new tonic. Use those Zaishen Keys for a chance to find May's sensational Phantasmal Tonic! To see the full tonic schedule, check out our Zaishen Rewards Calendar.

Community: Inspired Creations!

In this edition of Community News, our players once again show off their creativity and wit. Read on for details!

News from GuildWars.com:

 

An Anniversary Message from James Phinney

To wrap up today's fifth year anniversary, ArenaNet's own Design Director, James Phinney, has a few words of appreciation to share with all of you. Head over to the new ArenaNet Blog to read what he has to say!

 

News from GuildWars.com:

 

The Official ArenaNet Blog Launches

We're kicking off the brand-new ArenaNet Blog with the Guild Wars 2 Design Manifesto, a message to MMO players from ArenaNet Studio Head Mike O'Brien which outlines the bold new direction GW2 will take. That's just the beginning – we've got a lot of cool stuff planned! Check out the new blog here!

Massively Interview with James Phinney

Rubi Bayer has put up another great interview today; a retrospective with game design guru James Phinney, Design Director at ArenaNet.

Guild Wars has come a long way in five years, and you've had plenty of time and experience with game development for the game. How has the process changed and refined over the years?

James Phinney: It's gotten progressively less chaotic. Obviously, there were a lot of lessons along the way while we were developing campaigns, but the biggest change to how we approach things now has to do with the maturity of the game. We know our players and our game much better than we used to, and we're able to focus on addressing community needs and balance issues in a much more focused way. I think our recent updates and the War in Kryta content are good examples of that.

Check out the rest of that interview here, and head over to the forum to comment!

News from GuildWars.com:

 

Help Us Celebrate Five Years of Guild Wars

Guild Wars is turning five! We're throwing a big party to thank you all for five fantastic year—we couldn't have made it this far without you. Come join the festivities starting at Noon PST on April 22nd. Head over here to learn more!

 

Massively Interview with Regina Buenaobra

Rubi Bayer from Massively has put up another great piece on the War in Kryta event, this time an interview with one of ArenaNet's community managers, Regina Buenaobra.

How do you feel about the success of the viral campaign that launched War in Kryta?

RB: We've been very pleased at the fan reaction to the viral campaign leading up to the War in Kryta. We've had propaganda flyers with QR codes, secret messages, websites, Facebook pages for each faction... all leading up to the War in Kryta, which is a multi-level event that we're releasing in stages. It's been fantastic so far, primarily because we have such an enthusiastic and clever fan base.

Check out the rest of that interview here!

News from GuildWars.com:

 

GameSpot Interview: Linsey Murdock on War in Kryta

Live Team Lead Designer Linsey Murdock recently chatted about the War in Kryta with GameSpot. Learn more about the war and the effect it will have on Guild Wars 2—read the interview here!