Guild Wars 2 sales are over 3 million
"We now want to raise the bar for what players expect from a live game as well."
Subscription-less MMO Guild Wars 2 has now sold more than 3 million copies, developer ArenaNet has announced.
Lead designer Colin Johanson also shared what lies ahead for the MMO in 2013.
What there won't be is another tier of equipment like Ascended. Because what a stink that caused.
"Our reward systems need to be exciting and include things you want to earn over time, but we don't want to force our players on endless gear treadmills for new tiers of gear we add every six months," wrote Johanson on the Guild Wars 2 website.
"You won't see another tier between ascended and legendary in 2013, for example. Our goal will be to use our existing reward systems and build new ones that are fun and exciting that step away from the stale gear grind reward systems you see elsewhere."
The new types of rewards ArenaNet is working on will pop up in the latter half of the year. Some you'll be able to earn through an expanded achievement system, which will give you tokens to spend on rewards as an, err, reward.
Guilds will be able to go on guild missions together in 2013, and it sounds like guilds will be able to make content for other people, too.
"We know this game can be so much more than what we've shown so far."
Colin Johanson
"Some of these missions may be content designed specifically for the guild to accomplish within certain constraints or time requirements," wrote Johanson, "while others see the creation of new content by a guild/s everyone in the world can experience."
There will be guild rewards and "tools to allow guilds of all sizes to play a stronger part in solidifying the communities of the GW2 world".
World versus World will get a new prestige and advancement system.
"This will give players a progression path where they earn new WVW-only abilities and bonuses, and with them gain prestige and visible titles/recognition," revealed Johanson.
"Also, we'll add a new motivation to the WVW domain that goes beyond the overall weekly score to give more short term reasons to be winning in WVW as well."
Paid server transfers are coming too, but they'll have unspecified time and WVW restrictions.
Johanson hopes 2013 will be the year culling is eradicated from Guild Wars 2. Culling is the game engine struggling and failing to render characters in WVW as they rush into your viewable range. Johanson has seen "promising results" from some improvements ArenaNet has made.
Player versus Player will be overhauled to "make it feel more rewarding and exciting and to give reasons to log in and compete every day". Matchmaking improvements should mean casual PVPers will fight like-minded individuals, and there will be more help at hand to help them improve.
Competitive PVP will welcome spectating as well as your own custom arenas for team practises. The end goal is an eSports side of the game with "major" tournaments and prizes.
Expect more world events and more events in general in 2013, too.
Also: website leaderboards, redesigned boss encounters, new achievements, improved game security, improving the Looking for Group tool and improving the new player experience for newcomers.
Johanson also pledged to keep identifying other areas of the game that can be improved.
"We know this game can be so much more than what we've shown so far. We feel like we've only begun to scratch the surface of where the world of Tyria can go and what you can expect from an MMORPG," Johanson concluded.
"2013 will be the year we truly launch into that journey, and just as we tried to change the paradigm and expectations of an MMO when we released Guild Wars 2, we now want to raise the bar for what players expect from a live game as well."