Guild Wars Eye of the North



Guild Wars: Eye of the North (commonly abbreviated as GW:EN [as on the official site], GWEN, or EotN) is an upcoming product of the Guild Wars game series. It is an expansion to all of the first three campaigns. Unlike the previous three Guild Wars products, Eye of the North is not a standalone campaign: it is an expansion pack.

Eye of the North will require at least one of the Guild Wars campaigns to play, and focuses on high-level content for existing characters.

The campaign's name refers to the Eye of the North, a tower in the Far Shiverpeaks, which shows visions and will play a significant role in the plot of the expansion.

Content
The May edition of PC Gamer has announced Eye of the North, with a 15-page cover article on it, containing official information from ArenaNet. The magazine shipped on Thursday, March 15th to subscribers. It was not available on newsstands until after April 3rd.

Eye of the North will not include any new professions. James Phinney has stated that Eye of the North will involve character development beyond level 20. However, Gaile Gray has clarified that this extended character development will not increase the actual level cap.

Features:
 * 40 new armor styles (4 per profession)
 * 100 new profession-specific skills
 * 50 new PvE-only skills (none of which are profession-specific)
 * 10 new heroes (one of every profession)
 * New mini-games
 * Dwarven boxing
 * Polymock
 * The Norn Fighting Tournament
 * New titles, including three titles corresponding to reputation with the Asura, Deldrimor, Norn and Ebon Vanguard.

Eye of the North's story is divided into three sections:


 * The first takes place in the Depths of Tyria (which are revealed when earthquakes rip through the 3 continents), which contains 18 dungeons and involves helping the Dwarves fight against the Great Destroyer.
 * The second will involve three separate arcs involving the Asura on the Tarnished Coast near the Maguuma Jungle, the Norns in the Far Shiverpeaks and the Charr homeland north of Ascalon.
 * The third will involve fighting the Great Destroyer.

Bridging the Divide
Through the story line, Eye of the North will introduce Guild Wars players to some of the races that will be playable in the planned sequel: Guild Wars 2. It will serve another important function for players who have invested much time and effort into developing their characters... a measure of continuity will be made possible through a Hall of Monuments. Players will construct these monuments through Quests in GW:EN and may then record some of their achievements (titles) and even items, which will bestow some benefit in GW2.

Heroes
Eye of the North will feature 10 new heroes, one of each profession.

Known heroes:
 * Jora
 * Pyre Fierceshot
 * Ogden Stonehealer
 * Vekk

Release Date
According to the official Press Release GW:EN will be released to the public on August 31, 2007.

It has been noted that some stores tell you that the release date is Sept 1 when you preorder.

Prerelease Pack
On July 20, 2007, stores will begin to carry sell the Guild Wars: Eye of the North prerelease pack. Some stores will give this to customers when they pre-order the expansion, others will sell it separately. The pack includes:


 * A chance to play the game early during the Sneak Peak Weekend, August 24-26th.
 * "Preferred Friend" access to the Tabula Rasa beta.
 * DVD with 10 day/14 hour trial key for all three Guild Wars games
 * Bonus items: Glacial Blade, Darksteel Longbow and Hourglass Staff

Trivia

 * Guild Wars: Eye of the North is often abbreviated GW:EN. Some players believe that this is an intentional reference to Gwen, while others believe it is a coincidence.
 * Guild Wars: Eye of the North plays 6 years after The Searing, 1076 AE, which means it plays one year after the events of Guild Wars Nightfall.

From official sites

 * Guild Wars Official Site: Guild Wars 2, Guild Wars Expansion Announced
 * Guild Wars Official Site: Official Eye of the North Announcement

From other sites

 * GameSpot UK - Guild Wars: Eye of the North gameplay movies
 * IGN - E3 2007: Guild Wars: Eye of the North Update
 * Onlinewelten.com - Eye of the North presentation video: part 1 part 2
 * MMORPG.com - Guild Wars: Eyes of the North: E3 Preview [sic]
 * Gamespot - E3 07: Guild Wars: Eye of the North Impressions
 * Gamespot - Guild Wars Eye of the North - Gameplay Movie 1 (shows Pyre Fierceshot, Ogden Stonehealer and Vekk)
 * GameDaily - Interview: Guild Wars: Eye of the North
 * IGN: A Conversation With ArenaNet
 * Gamespy: Guild Wars: Eye of the North preview
 * Games Radar - Guild Wars: Eye of the North - interview
 * Gamespot - Guild Wars Eye of the North Developer Diary #2
 * GamingNexus Exclusive: Guild Wars: Eye of the North - A preview of the new monsters.
 * IGN - Dungeon Montage. A movie showing the dungeons.
 * IGN - Guild Wars: Eye of the North Dungeon Crawl
 * Gamespy preview article
 * Gamespot: Guild Wars: Eye of the North Q&A - Introduction to the First Guild Wars Expansion
 * Eurogamer - Interview - The best things in life are free
 * gamona.de - PC-Interview: Guild Wars 2 - English interview with arena.net (also briefly covers Eye of the North)
 * Kotaku - Feature: Guild Wars 2, GW Expansion Unveiled
 * Kotaku - Eye of the North logo
 * Kotaku - Eye of the North and Guild Wars 2 image gallery
 * Guild Wars Guru: forum thread on the PC Gamer article
 * Guild Wars Guru: Official PCG Article Thread