Guild Wars Factions
A standalone campaign set in the war-torn continent of Cantha.
Guild Wars Factions is the second standalone campaign in the Guild Wars series, developed by ArenaNet. It can be played on its own or as the first expansion to the original game, Prophecies. Set in the East Asian-inspired continent of Cantha, the game revolves around an ongoing war between the Luxons and Kurzicks, which players can join by helping their chosen faction capture towns on the map.
Quick Facts
- Developer
- ArenaNet
- Publisher
- NCSOFT
- Series
- Guild Wars
- Released
- April 28, 2006 (Retail); April 22, 2009 (Steam) (NA)
- Genre
- Action RPG; CORPG
- Modes
- Multiplayer
- Platforms
- Windows
Facts from the source article.
Plot
The story of Factions is loosely connected to Prophecies, primarily through the monk Mhenlo, who spent his youth in Cantha. Players can bring characters from other campaigns by accompanying Mhenlo, while those starting in Factions meet him later. The game begins on Shing Jea Island, a tutorial area accessible at all times, where Canthan characters meet Master Togo, a ritualist and half-brother to the emperor. Togo, a former mentor of Mhenlo, guides players through quests teaching tactics such as kiting and snaring. The tutorial introduces a plague spreading across Cantha, leading players to discover the mark of Shiro Tagachi, a disgraced imperial bodyguard who murdered the emperor two hundred years earlier. Shiro's death wail caused the Jade Wind, which turned the sea to solid jade and the Echovald Forest to stone. Togo recognizes the mark and rushes to inform the emperor, while the player characters head to Kaineng Center.
Development and release
ArenaNet developed Factions as a standalone release over twelve months following the 2005 release of Guild Wars. Executive producer Jeff Strain stated the aims were to improve on the original campaign with enhanced graphics and new co-operative play mechanics through alliances, factions, and player-versus-player modes. The soundtrack was composed by Jeremy Soule. Factions was announced on 10 January 2006, with a free PvP preview event on January 20–22. A public beta preview event for European pre-order players from March 24–26 attracted over 500,000 participants. A 'Day of the Tengu' pre-release event occurred on 27 April 2006, and the game was released on 28 April 2006. ArenaNet and NCsoft announced a Guild Wars Factions Championship at the Leipzig Games Convention in August 2006.
Reception
Upon release, Factions topped weekly sales charts for computer games in the United Kingdom, Europe, and North America, and total Guild Wars sales surpassed two million. Metacritic rated it 'generally favorable'. Reviewers praised the new Kurzick and Luxon factions and territory-claiming mechanics but criticized the weak storyline, poorer voice-acting, and accelerated level curve. The user interface lacking advanced team-forming and trading functions was also criticized, though Nightfall later addressed some issues. Justin Olivetti of Engadget called the soundtrack 'technically sufficient' but lacking grandeur. Factions was nominated for a British Academy Video Games Award in the 'Multiplayer' category and won Best Multiplayer Game from DEMMX.
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