On July 9th, Guild Wars 2 will see its next major update with the arrival of the Bazaar of the Four Winds and the marvelous Zephyr Sanctum. With the airship’s arrival come a host of new features including a race that players can participate in for rewards and a new PvP map, which was datamined a few weeks ago. The new map is called Skyhammer, and features a mega-cannon and jumping pads that look pretty fun. Players will also be able to participate in a new scavenger hunt during the event as well as a gather a new resource that will be used for future recipes.

The update will also be bringing in some improvements for the achievement UI, new in-game gem store items, and two new WvW ability lines. If you’re wondering why the updates seem to be coming much quicker these days, Colin Johanson talks a bit about the team’s goal for pushing out updates every two weeks in a new developer blog and video. Updates ahoy! Oh, wait, pirate season is almost over, isn’t it? Ah well.

For more information, check out the official announcement.

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Yesterday we received a new developer blog with more information and some interesting developer backstory about the brand new PvP map coming in Guild Wars 2‘s next big update: Bazaar of the Four Winds. The new map is called Skyhammer and will contain a massive, experimental asura canon, jumping platforms, and destructible floor tiles. On top of, you know, the normal dangers of PvP. Intrigued yet?

“Skyhammer is a Conquest map with three capture points,” Game designer Tyler Bearce explains. “We’ve added three secondary mechanics to the map to keep things dangerous: jump pads, shattering floor panels, and the Skyhammer cannon itself.”

Bearce and environment artist Darrin Claypool have been working on the Skyhammer map with the PvP team on-and-off for 4 months now.

“We’ve been working on it for 4 months on and off, doing a lot of iteration, trying to get it right,” Bearce says. “Of course, we work on multiple maps at a time – but this one is special. I think players are really going to respond well to Skyhammer.”

Check out the full article here.

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I think it’s pretty safe to say that for many of us, one of the coolest parts about ArenaNet’s new ramped-up content release schedule is not only the new quests, rewards, and mini-games, but the new music, concept art, and gorgeous scenery that accompany each update. Guild Wars 2 has a fantastic team of composers that really do help each update come alive in a well-crafted way.

Yesterday ArenaNet updated their awesome SoundCloud page with two of the tracks from the Bazaar of the Four Winds update. While there, you can preview the tracks for free and even give them a download.

Check the two new tracks out here.

The post And Now, the Music from Bazaar of the Four Winds! appeared first on JunkiesNation.

Starting July 23rd, Guild Wars 2 launches its next major update with with, well, a bit of a campaign. A political campaign, that is. Kiel and Gnashblade will be going head to head to secure a lucrative trade agreement with the merchants of the Zephyr Sanctum, and they’re going to need our help. Players will be able to use Support Tokens and coins to help out their favorite candidates. There will be in-game rewards, of course, that each candidate will offer as part of their campaign.

Ellen Kiel says:

• “I’ll reduce waypoint travel prices for four weeks’ time
• I’ll support important Fractals of the Mists research into the Thaumanova Reactor explosion by the end of the year
• I’ll introduce a rotating schedule of activities such as Crab Toss and Southsun Survival.”

And Evon Gnashblade offers:

• “I’ll slash prices on Black Lion Keys for four whole weeks
• I’ll sponsor important Fractals of the Mist research into the Fall of Abaddon, to be completed by the end of the year
• I’ll host a rotation of popular activities like Crab Toss and Southsun Survival.”

We’ll also be recieving some other interesting updates, including a new survival competitive map with rewards, a new PvP arena, a new solo challenge, and another new WvW ability line. For more information, check out the newly-released information page.

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