'Guild Wars 2' developers reiterate endgame strategy

Guild Wars 2's developers at ArenaNet believe their game does something unique when it comes to endgame content, and they reiterated their design goals yesterday.

Guild Wars 2's developers at ArenaNet believe their game does something unique when it comes to endgame content, and they reiterated their design goals yesterday.

"We didn't want the endgame to be something you could only experience after a hundred hours of gameplay or after you reached some arbitrary number," said lead content designer Mike Zadorojny. Instead, ArenaNet took experiences that would traditionally be seen as endgame content and interspersed them throughout the game.

The studio placed a large-scale boss fight in each race's introductory adventure, so players could get a hint of the massive battles to come. As players make progress toward the level cap, the developers ramp up the stakes and the intensity of the combat. While there are "new and interesting ways to challenge" players who make it to level 80, but ArenaNet "didn't want to force [players] to master an entirely new subset of the game."

ArenaNet also took a something-for-everyone approach in designing engaging content at every level. All eight dungeons are playable in "explorable mode," with three different paths for five characters each. Giant bosses arise dynamically in the world. Legendary weapons are crafted in the Mystic Forge after quests of gathering the required rare materials. Completionists have a lot to explore, too.

"We want the experiences that players will have while progressing through the game to be a journey that they take with their character, something that they will remember and cherish," said Zadorojny.

If that all sounds appealing, check out our full review of Guild Wars 2 and then jump into the world of Tyria yourself.