With no monthly fees, level grinding, and intense world class PvP play, the Guild Wars series has always stood apart from the rest of the MMO pack. But Guild Wars: Eye of the North, the last title in the original Guild Wars series, breaks from previous campaigns in a variety of ways:
- It will cost less than a full-sized campaign at $39.99. The non-special edition of Nightfall retailed at $49.99, for example.
- It will require players to own at least one previous Guild Wars game.
- It will include no tutorial and introduce no new professions.
Instead, EotN focuses exclusively on content for current Guild Wars players, introducing 40 new armor sets and 150 new skills (including 50 PvE-only skills) across all existing 10 professions. Similar to earning the Sunspear title in Nightfall, you'll also encounter several groups with which you can form allegiances, and you'll meet 10 new Heroes, including non-human Charr, Asura, Norn, and Dwarven warriors.
Above: Expect to learn a lot more about the Charr in Eye of the North
ArenaNet's first goal with Eye of the North is to "extend character development beyond level 20," says lead designer James Phinney. Slightly lower-level characters will have the option to tackle EotN's challenges, but they're built primarily for those who've maxed out Guild Wars' current level cap.
Ultimately, Eye of the North will serve as a bridge between Guild Wars 1 and Guild Wars 2, and that link drives the game's story, characters (including introducing the Asura and the Norn, and re-introducing the Charr - all races that will be playable in Guild Wars 2), and game elements, such as the Hall of Monuments that will allow players to transfer their GW1 achievements to the new game.
