Guild Wars: Sorrow's Furnace Release Date

[A-Team]

ArenaNet has announced a release date and final details for their first free 'Guild Wars' add-on pack entitled 'Sorrow's Furnace'. Beginning on September 7th, all 'Guild Wars' owners will be able to sign in and automatically receive the update free of charge.

Here's what the press release (http://www.guildwars.com/press/pr10-29-08-05.html) has to say about 'Sorrow's Furnace':

Sorrow's Furnace offers two large, explorable regions: Grenth's Footprint and Sorrow's Furnace. These regions will provide exciting new high-level content to Guild Wars players, and will offer new quests, new monsters, new items, and more. For characters who have completed their ascension in Guild Wars, these areas will provide new opportunities for exploration and reward.
In case that's not enough for you, ArenaNet has teamed up with DirectSong.com (http://www.directsong.com/) to offer players a mini package of 'Sorrow's Furnace' music and a preview of 'Guild Wars Battle Pak 1', "the first full music upgrade for Guild Wars" which will be available in late September. The "mini pak" will be launched alongside 'Sorrow's Furnace' and will be free of charge to all players.

I'm not too thrilled about 'Guild Wars' personally, but this is good news to those who are.

[Crispy951]

wooo bring on the free shit!

[Rirath]

"I'm not too thrilled about 'Guild Wars' personally, but this is good news to those who do."

Those who are. ;)

Neat stuff... I expected just new areas, not new monsters and items. Hopefully they're not impossible to play solo.

[GrinR]

The box just sits on my desk, taunting me. I tried 3 times to get fun from it. I wish I didn't get lost and bored in GW... Apparently I need to get post-searing or something but I dont even know what that means.

Also, I level up but dont get any new skills. I killed a million bears and.. nothing new?

[Genital Eclipse]

GrinR, the whole pre-searing is basically a tutorial of how to play GW. Post searing is where the real game takes place.

When you level up you're given points to put into your different class attributes and a 'skill' point. Skill points can be used to purchase skills. I don't think you can purchase skills in pre-searing, but you can unlock skills there via missions.

Basically there's a whole bunch of ways to unlock skills: quest rewards, skill points (through leveling up), signet of capture (jack skills from bosses), PvP (gain faction points and then purchase skill unlocks), etc....

Eventually you will have more skills than calories in a double whopper with cheese and an extra beef patty.

Ah anyways, good luck, and woo to new content. Join the EA guild if you need some helping actually in game running through stuff.

[bryan]

The box just sits on my desk, taunting me. I tried 3 times to get fun from it. I wish I didn't get lost and bored in GW... Apparently I need to get post-searing or something but I dont even know what that means.

Also, I level up but dont get any new skills. I killed a million bears and.. nothing new?


I have the exact same problem, and I AM post-searing. It's just that you sign on to it thinking it's an MMORPG when it isn't. After playing WOW the world feels flat, restrictive (I can't jump, I can't even stride out to cross a 2 foot gap, I can't go up/down slopes, etc). The world doesn't come alive for me.

However your lack of new skills come from the fact that only post searing you can use the capture signet to 'capture' new skills from specially marked monsters.

[GrinR]

That does sound interesting. I got over the non-mmorpg feel, although I agree with you Bryan... maybe I'll give it ANOTHER try!

[DevDict]

Sold mine on eBay for 4/5 of the price I paid for it.
ArenaNet has showed poor support for their product. Oh, they do patch it every month, however the patch usually changes the icons for some items or adds a new monster. Guild Wars is not as balanced as some think, there is little high-level PVE content and the gameworld and story aren't that amazing at all. I finished the storilines with my ranger, had a level 20 mesmer in the third before last mission and deleted five characters (including a level 20 W/N). Guild Wars was fun for a while but nothing I'll remember for long, I am afraid.

Funny. ArenaNet has promised this free addon to be ready by late June... then July... then August.

[bapenguin]

Sold mine on eBay for 4/5 of the price I paid for it.
ArenaNet has showed poor support for their product. Oh, they do patch it every month, however the patch usually changes the icons for some items or adds a new monster. Guild Wars is not as balanced as some think, there is little high-level PVE content and the gameworld and story aren't that amazing at all. I finished the storilines with my ranger, had a level 20 mesmer in the third before last mission and deleted five characters (including a level 20 W/N). Guild Wars was fun for a while but nothing I'll remember for long, I am afraid.

Funny. ArenaNet has promised this free addon to be ready by late June... then July... then August.

You are on crack if you think there is no high level PVE content. I hit level 20 just as I hit the desert area before I ascended. There's at least 10 MAIN missions after, as well as a dozen or so side quests. Not to mention just trying to capture all your elite skills etc. Hell, I hit level 20 2 months ago and I'm still doing the main story line... CURSE YOU RING OF FIRE!!!!

oh yeah, this is good news.

[bapenguin]

OOooh..this is worth mentioning:In addition, DirectSong will simultaneously release new music for Sorrow’s Furnace. DirectSong, the world's first official music expansion service, will offer a Sorrow's Furnace music Mini-Pak free of charge to all Guild Wars account holders who register at their website: www.directsong.com. The Mini-Pak also features a preview of Guild Wars Battle Pak 1, the first full music upgrade announced for Guild Wars, available end of September.

The special songs from the $4.99 download is well worth it. Plus it mixes the songs up in game for you! Not just randomly mind you, it picks and choose where to put the 8 or 9 new songs.

[bryan]

Despite my personal reservations about the game, Arena have put out a beautiful game, and has achieved what it's set out to do. It's primary intention is PVP and it does that well, I have friends who sings it praises, it's good online fun that isn't a huge time sink like WoW. However I do agree with the lack of PVE content, but my non-enjoyment with it is probably not being a big fan of being in a continual 'instance'. Otherwise, the storyline is actually pretty intriguing.

[A-Team]

"I'm not too thrilled about 'Guild Wars' personally, but this is good news to those who do."

Those who are. ;)

Neat stuff... I expected just new areas, not new monsters and items. Hopefully they're not impossible to play solo.
It was late. :p

[Bishop]

My character ascended a few months ago and I finished the game, so I've drowling for a long time in anticapation of this release. I've played both WoW and GW, I really liked WoW but when you can play a game of GW's calibur and play it free online there is no decision.........GW all the way.

[Spigot]

I enjoyed GW for the monthish that I played it. I agree that after WoW, the world does seem rather flat. It doesn't have half the personality that WoW has either. It was cool to do the story missions but after Ascending I just couldn't be bothered playing more.

I'll boot up my copy in a few months when I hit level 60 in WoW and see what the new stuff is like. I just can't get all hot and bothered about GW.

[Bishop]

I disagree totally. I bought the game for the sole purpose of being able to play it without having to be looking for hours for a party that will let you join. Just go and grab a few henchies and you're off to the races. In my opinion WoW is more PvP than PvE then what GW is, but that's just my opinion.

[dark_inchworm]

Guild Wars didn't intrigue me too much. Granted, I was tempted to buy it when all my friends got into it, but when one of my best friends was able to hit lvl 20 easily in less than a week, I didn't think that'd be very satisfactory. Nor was I enthused that new content would come, oh, every couple months or so.

I did get to play it, though.. and still wasn't too impressed. It was fun, but not enough to warrant a purchase just yet. I'll play D2 if I want to tear shit up, and frankly I don't give a rat's ass for PVP.

My pals seem to have all but abandoned the game as of late, though. I find that understandable.

[A-Team]

OOooh..this is worth mentioning
I did mention it ;).

It's a good deal whether you choose to purchase the package or not. Either way, you'll get to hear some new tunes and will receive the preview for the battle pak.

[agentgray]

Sold mine on eBay for 4/5 of the price I paid for it.
ArenaNet has showed poor support for their product. Oh, they do patch it every month, however the patch usually changes the icons for some items or adds a new monster. Guild Wars is not as balanced as some think, there is little high-level PVE content and the gameworld and story aren't that amazing at all. I finished the storilines with my ranger, had a level 20 mesmer in the third before last mission and deleted five characters (including a level 20 W/N). Guild Wars was fun for a while but nothing I'll remember for long, I am afraid.

Funny. ArenaNet has promised this free addon to be ready by late June... then July... then August.
In the meantime, I've never had to wait to play and I've never had to experience a server crash, plus I paid for the game once. :D

I'm glad you were able to get some playtime out of it. (I thought the story had some great twists to it. Some good shockers.)

There is some high-level PvE, but it's really tough to do solo. Glint anyone?

I think the balance is pretty spot on. Why? Because the strategies are changing all the time. The whole idea is to push the system to win. There is no one dominant strategy over another.

Also, how did you have five characters?

To be fair, I've never played WoW and I've been meaning to try. To each his own. GW does have an endgame. You can play the missions, get an ending cutscene, and walk away. There's no sink to keep playing. With no fee, Arena.net doesn't have to keep me there.