GW2 Community Creators Spotlight - Nerdybookah's Paeroka

Q :What do you do in the Guild Wars community and where can everyone find you?

A: I have a blog (http://nerdybookahs.wordpress.com) where I mostly write about MMOs. Guild Wars 2 is one of the main topics in there (as the name of the blog already suggests), but I regularly write about some other games as well.

Q :Did you hear of/play GW1 and what was your experiences/ you're impressions? What is your earliest memory if so?

A: Yes, I did play the original Guild Wars. I first heard about the game before Factions was released and tried out the Factions preview weekend where you got a max level character, but no tutorial. So my earliest memory was getting thrown into the game with no clue what I’m doing, lots of skills to choose from and a gorgeous game world, most notably the Jade Sea. This enchanting world was also the reason why I did not get Guild Wars out of my head again. I did later buy Nightfall and that’s when I was really hooked. :)

Q :Did you/are you playing other MMO's? What attracted you to them?

A: Too many currently, I fear. I play Rift mostly for its housing. They released a patch a bit ago with a new dimension that I’ve wanted ever since it first appeared on the public test server: An island in the middle of the ocean! Then I also recently started playing Wildstar after they (finally) announced that free to play is coming. Oddly enough, I am currently paying a monthly fee. :p But I know it’s not forever and I enjoy playing it at the moment. What attracted me to Wildstar is the humor and the comic graphics. In general, I prefer vivid colours over realistic grey worlds and I don’t mind comic graphics. Speaking of graphics, I also play Trove which probably counts as an online game, at least, but doesn’t exactly fall into the same category as the other games.

I started playing MMOs with World of Warcraft. Later, I also played Lord of the Rings Online and Warhammer Online and tried to get into several others like Aion, Allods Online, Star Trek Online and The Secret World. In general, I really love giving MMOs a try and I stick around in some and leave others very fast (Alganon would be such an example. I didn’t last longer than two hours or so in that game).

Q :When did you start playing GW2 and what got you involved in the game itself?

A: The first time I got to play was during a closed beta event, but only for a very short amount of time. The first time I got to play the game for a bit longer was in Brighton, UK. I had been lucky enough to be invited by ArenaNet and NCsoft to play the game with several others who have fansites and blogs (like Tilion from Dragon Season and Tasha from Attached to Keyboard).

The reason I got involved in the first place and got interested in the game was the original Guild Wars. I loved the world and wanted to see more of it and I also really liked that I’d get to play an asura! I pre-purchased the game, so I’ve been playing since headstart.

Q :What has been your favourite memory of GW2?

A: The guild parties we have had. Well, the guild parties that I mostly organized. I stopped doing them due to time constraints, mostly, but the idea was mentioned that we could have another one soon. It’s always great to see how many we actually are and to have them all around and enjoy themselves. :) Also, we usually have games and prizes to win during such games and those are both fun to plan and fun to do during the party. :)

Q :How do you feel about the upcoming expansion HoT?

A: As much as I like Guild Wars 2, I am not really hyped about the expansion. For one, because I would like to hear more details (how many maps are we getting? What is that ominous “challenging group combat”? Which specialization will thieves and warriors get?) and then because I’ve been burned by hype in the past. I had been so hyped about Warhammer Online and what it would be and feel like… the reality of that game showed me never to get my expectations up too high again. ;) So I will sit here and wait patiently for what is going to come and will later decide whether it was worth my money or not.

Q :What class do you main/ What is your least liked class and why?.

A: In beta and at release mesmer, then warrior, now mesmer again. I expect it to switch to warrior again sooner or later. ;) In general, I really like playing melee classes with tricks up their sleeve. But nothing that relies on stealth or positional combat (such as “do x amount of extra damage when attacking from the side”). I really like playing my mesmer with sword/pistol, but have switched to scepter now which is fine as well. Just from time to time, I enjoy the direct damage that a warrior does more than the tricky gameplay of a mesmer.

Least favourite is the guardian probably. That profession is okay and from the description, I should theoretically really like it! But in reality, I got very bored when levelling mine. No other profession was as boring to play as that one, no matter which weapons I tried.

Q :What is your preferred game mode/Have you been drawn to any other modes?

A: I like all game modes in theory. I would love to love WvW, but I just don’t. It seems a bit pointless to me. In Warhammer Online (a game with great ideas and very, very poor execution), you pushed against the enemy forces with the goal of invading their city and killing their faction leader. I guess I just miss something like this here. Consequently, I have not spent much time in WvW at all, even though I would love to.  sPvP is great, but gets a bit repetitive. I hope this will change once Stronghold is here. And PvE is always nice, but I’m not a fan of the new maps and I don’t like doing dungeons without the traditional healer. So there’s not much for me to do.

Q :Do you do Guild Missions, if so, which one is your favourite and why?

A: I used to love guild missions and played them every week, sometimes I even joined a second time just to help out. Our guild has stopped doing guild missions twice a week and now only does them once a week which falls into a time where I can’t play comfortably. However, that’s not too bad. No new guild missions have been added and it just gets boring and repetitive to do the same ones over and over again.

In general, I really love the guild puzzles. I also really love doing the Spider Scurry when we manage to place helping guildies all over the track and it just works flawlessly then. :)

Q :What do you  enjoy so much about the profession you play as most and why?

A: I’ve almost exclusively played my mesmer in PvP. I just like tricking my enemies with clones, putting torment and confusion on them. :)

Q :What is your favourite/least favourite PvP map and why?

A: I used to not like Courtyard at all, because it’s a boring map. But from time to time, it’s actually not bad to just battle in one space with nothing else to worry about, basically. But my all-time favourite map is Battle of Kyhlo. It’s connected with “nostalgia” as at gamescom 2011 bookahnerk (the other half of the Nerdy Bookahs blog) and I stood at the PvP booth and filmed the spvp matches that fans could play there, so we could show the matches on our YouTube channel later on. Crappy quality, of course, as this was done with a small digital camera. But that aside, I remember the excitement not only from us watching the matches, but also from those who got to play - and over the next few weeks, those who could watch the videos on YouTube which, again, have a bad quality, but it was “the best” of watching sPvP matches that we could get at that time. :p

My least favourite is Skyhammer. It annoys me with the jumping and the holes in the ground.

Q :How do you feel about the new PvP mode to be introduced in HoT?

A: I am excited, although I am also skeptical and hope that they can make the map fun and enjoyable for every PvP player out there.

Q :How did you get started with the community, what inspired you to get involved?

A: I started a blog because I wanted a place to share my thoughts and adventures in MMOs. It was pretty clear from the beginning that I would write about Guild Wars 2, so when bookahnerk and I decided to write a blog together, we came up with “Nerdy Bookahs”, a name clearly related to the GW2 lore. But writing blog posts is only one very small part and sometimes an isolated one. I slowly got involved on Twitter, communicated with others who also wrote about the game or were just fans in general. Then, in 2011, I got invited to Brighton as part of the EU Fan Day. I met lots of others who maintained fan sites and that’s where I really got involved. I’ve since helped organize Pink Day in LA on the EU server Aurora Glade and the German Foostival events in 2014 and 2015. It’s just fun connecting with others who share the same hobby (inside the game and out there in the real world) and without those people, I don’t think blogging would be even half as much fun as it is. :)

Q :Why did you choose your particular format  [youtube/twitch/blogs ect] ?

A: I prefer writing. I have more time to carefully lay out my thoughts. Not that I’d always do that, but the possibility is there, at least. My train of thought can be very confusing for others sometimes, so believe me, you wouldn’t want to listen to me anyway. ;) Also, I am not a native speaker. While my understanding of the English language had always stayed at a really good level (I had to read countless scientific texts in English for my studies), my “language production skills” were lacking. So I decided to use this blog, write in English and improve my language skills again.

Q :What content do you create? Anything of note coming up soon?

A: I am currently participating in “Blaugust”. 31 posts over the course of August. So theoretically, one post a day. I am not doing this alone, of course. This initiative was started by Belghast (http://aggronaut.com/) and a lot of people joined (I think we’re more than 70 now?). I will return to being a quieter blogger once August is over.

Q :Do you have any advice for people wanting to follow in your footsteps?

A: If you want to write a blog, because you want to write a blog, then… well, write a blog. ;) Do not worry about people not liking what you write, or how you write. Do not start writing for your audience. You will lose the fun of blogging very fast. Write because you love writing. And to those who aren’t native speakers either: Do not worry! We are many, actually. So many, in fact, that at the EU Fan Day out of all the “English European fan sites” that had been invited, only ONE person was actually a native speaker.

GW2 Community Creators Spotlight - Guild Wars Reporter's Celeste and Allona

Q: What do you do in the Guild Wars community and where can everyone find you?

We’re Celeste and Allona of Guild Wars Reporter, a podcast that has been chugging along since 2011. We try to  let people know there are changes constantly occurring in the various game modes. We filter through all the news to share what’s really important but also provide the links for folks that may want a deeper dive. Our website is  guildwarsreporter.com, we’re also on Itunes, Stitcher, Youtube (mmoreporternetwork) and Twitter (gwreporter).

Q: Did you hear of/play GW1 and what was your experiences/ you're impressions? What is your earliest memory if so?

Celeste: I played GW1 for quite a while and have a few thousand hours clocked in. A lot of that time was spent with guildies and friends. My earliest memory is of pre-searing and doing my first run North of the Wall in an attempt to get a highly coveted Charr Bag.

Allona: I did play GW1. Picked up  the box out of curiosity when it launched and finally took the plunge when Nightfall dropped. I was smitten; I had found my gaming home and have never looked back!

Q: Did  you/are you playing other MMO's? What attracted you to  them?

Celeste: I started playing Rift and LOTRO during a brief stint between GW1 and 2. Mostly I wanted to try something different and a few of my GW friends convinced me to come over and try it out. I spent a fair chunk of time in those games and most of the time I was out hunting “shinies” in Rift which is very similar to the scavenger hunt or explorer achievements in GW2.

Allona: Previous MMOs are Ultima Online, Everquest, City of Heroes, WoW, and Rift. Mostly they were games that friends were playing, not games I came to on my own.

Q: When did you start playing GW2 and what got you involved in the game itself?

Celeste: I started off in the beta. Since I was already doing Guild Wars Reporter the shift and interest in the Guild Wars 2 community already had a home in my heart.

Allona: I started playing in beta. I had been following the progress of the game since its announcement in 2009 (including listening to many podcasts… like Guild Wars Reporter)!

Q: What have you enjoyed about GW2 and what has kept you playing?
Celeste: The friends I’ve made have kept the game increasingly interesting. A lot of what makes Guild Wars 2 unique in the MMOsphere is its (typically) enthusiastic community. Plus it doesn’t hurt to have a game studio that really wants to push out their best content over anything else.

Allona: Community. story, mechanics, music, visual aesthetics -- both the environment and characters.

Q: What has been your favourite memory of GW2?

Allona: This is a tough one to pi  down to a single answer. Meeting people out in the world who have since become  great friends … so much this. I LOVED the first Karka event. I think the trip into Omadd’s machine and the Sylvari reveal are definite highlights; but there has certainly been smaller, less epic memories that have been forged over the past few years. Some aren’t even of me playing … the two most recent World Tournament Series had some seriously fun and intense moments!

Q: How do you feel about the upcoming expansion HoT?

Celeste: I wasn’t as excited until I played as a Tempest, now I’m counting down the days until I can play with one and KEEP the rewards.

Allona: VERY EXCITED! There has been a lot revealed that has me chomping at the bit to have it drop later this year!

Q: What class do you main/ What is your least liked class and why?.

Celeste: I would say Ranger but I’m making quite the effort to switch to my Mesmer. I deeply dislike my Warrior. I’ve never found a groove with the melee aspects and have remade my character at least 3 times.

Allona: Mesmer, Mesmer, Mesmer. All Mesmer, all the time. I think my least liked profession would be Ele … maybe Thief?

Q: What is your preferred game mode/Have you been drawn to any other modes?

Celeste: PvE. I do play PvP and WvW when I have a hankering for it though and don’t shy away from the challenges there.

Allona: Definitely PvE. I don’t mind WvW, but mostly during the WvW Seasons. PvP has been a bit of a shocker to me. I enjoy the couple matches a day I typically play way more than I thought I would (I don’t even mind losing!).

Q: What has drawn you to your game mode of choice?

Celeste: I prefer to play casually and typically end up playing solo. PvE is where I started and it’s where I’m at ease with my playstyle. The fact that there’s very little pressure if you fail is also extremely alluring when you’ve got a limited window for playing.

Allona: PvE is where the story is, it also tends to be a bit less intense (outside of large world events). It’s a fun escape that I can do alone to relax or with friends for laughs and shared experiences.

Q: Has it changed since you started playing? If so, how?

Celeste: There’s been so many great updates to Guild Wars 2 over the years that it’s hard to pin down the most influential. Megaservers, free repair anvils, the Living World, Super Adventure Box, and so many other things have changed the way that players view and interact with Tyria.

Allona: The Living World has allowed for the continuation of the story of Tyria. Mega Servers blended the population so you come into contact with others players far more frequently. All good things I think!

Q: Why did you choose to make content from this game mode?

Allona: I am not a technical player; I don’t remember stat names, or understand the meta. I can talk about my impressions and experiences though … so PvE is the best arena for that (also I was terrified of PvP for the first long while.)

Q: How important is this game mode to the overall game? Do you think GW2 could be as successful without it?

Celeste: I’ll take a step back from this and say that when a friend tried to get me into GW1 he introduced it as a PvP-only game. I was interested and did some research to find out that it also had PvE. PvE has been at the heart of Tyria and I doubt that the game would be as popular if the game mode wasn’t offered to players.

Allona: I’m going to build off what Celeste mentioned. Tyria itself, its stories, locales, history, people … lore. Without the PvE, both PvP and WvW would be a shell. A beautiful, fun to play shell, but a shell.

Q: Do you have a favourite memory of this game mode?

Celeste: The first time I played through The Shatterer encounter I was completely enthralled. This was well before the side-rock staging point that you’ll see on all the megaservers today. It was an awe inspiring and epic experience.

Allona: See previous ‘favourite’ question. :)

Q: What is your opinion on the lore of the game?

Celeste: I love it so much. I wish more of the lore was present in the game itself but I’ve spent hours scouring the wiki and reading resources to understand more about the world of Tyria. I think allowing Ela Makkay to explain the first season of the living world in Lion’s Arch takes that a step further but I’m certainly hoping for a lot more in upcoming expansions.

Allona: Rinse, repeat what Celeste said.

Q: Is there a place, theme or person you would want new content to include?

Celeste: I really would love to learn more about what’s happening in Cantha. Particularly with the Luxons and Kurzicks, we know that they had been brought in under the imperial rule but I really would love to see if the lands are truly healed as they are rumored to be. Or if the Luxons are back to their seafaring ways and the Kurzicks are still dressing like Queen Amidala.

Allona: I want to visit Elona again… see how it’s changed. Nightfall was my favourite GW1 story, place, everything. If Varesh Ossa could be included in the story? Even better.

Q: What do you speculate as the next possible race?

Celeste: It would be pretty amazing to be able to play as a Mursaat, I don’t think that it will ever happen though (especially with the lore-breaking implications).

Allona: TENGU! I need to be a budgie-person so bad, you don’t even know!

Q: What crafting discipline did you level up first and why?

Celeste: Jeweler? It was the  cheapest one to get started on.

Allona: Jeweler. I think the materials for it were the most accessible. Plus shinies!

Q: What is your favourite PvE content [Jumping Puzzles, Guild Missions, World Bosses, dungeons ect] and why?

Celeste: I really enjoy the World  Boss trains, I know it can get tedious but the evolving conversations that can happen while people are just waiting around are interesting.

Allona: Random wandering? Can that  be a thing? I do love jumping puzzles, even though early one they were not  something I did well … at all. At. All.

Q: Do you play Dungeons, if so, what one is your favourite and what do you think to the  Dungeon clearing meta?

Celeste: I enjoy Honour of the Waves  especially if I’m with a group that isn’t rushing towards the goal line. I understand that people don’t seem to play them for the story and are more concerned with attaining wealth. I don’t have a problem with others playing this way but I don’t particularly enjoy it.

Allona: I love fungeons! My favourite is Crucible of Eternity … I think? I like all of them really.

Q: Do you do Guild Missions, if so, which one is your favourite and why?

Allona: I am in a couple guilds who do missions every week. The guild rush is definitely my favourite. They are all fun though if you’re with a group who know what they’re doing (note: I don’t know what I’m doing half the time.)

Q: What do you think of the current Meta, do you think this will change?

Celeste: Again, if other people want to gear up with Berserkers and rule the DPS world, that’s fine. I’ve got Berserker on my Ranger as well. But I also have focused on the play-style that I enjoy and it certainly doesn’t fit uniformly into the meta. I think that as builds change and specializations are added, the meta may shift slightly but for people that have invested in meta-centric ascended gear they will try to make the new changes fit within their existing gear, at least for a little while.

Allona: I don’t get the meta. I feel like there are nuances that can make fun, and powerful gameplay

that get ignored or even over-looked because of it.

Q: What is your favourite WvW map and why?

Celeste: I enjoy roaming the borderlands. Either in a small havoc group or as a solo roamer. I’m constantly amazed at how much I can get away with before feeling any opposition.

Q: What build do you use and could you tell me why you enjoy it so  much?

Celeste: I used to roam a lot on my Ranger but have recently transitioned to using my Mesmer. It’s a sword/torch mantra build that I haven’t quite gotten good enough at to solo with but I’m hopefully that I’ll get there. I really enjoy being able to be a light armor class, hop in and hop away and still manage to anger and/or kill my enemies.

Q: What do you  enjoy so much about the profession you play as most and why?

Celeste: I know a lot of people associate Rangers with Pew Pew and knockbacks but I’m really happy when I’m able to hold my own up against an opponent that I know can do a lot more DPS and surprise them with how well I can time my various Pew Pews and knockbacks.

Allona: I love confusion and the “quit hitting yourself” aspects of the Mesmer. The shatter bursts are nice too.

Q: What build do you run for that class?

Celeste: It’s like Bear bow, but it’s not completely bear bow.

Allona: Right now and am mixing in interrupts with blind and confusion with signets that remove condis and give distortion!

Q: What is your favourite/least favourite PvP map and why?

Celeste: I really dislike Legacy of the Foefire. The mid area is large and there’s no way to sneak around it unless you can stealth.

Allona: I adore Temple of the Silent Storm! I enjoy the layout and the map mechanics of the communes. Least fave is Legacy if the Foefire. I’m not sure why exactly, I just don’t enjoy playing on it.

Q: How do you feel about the new PvP mode to be introduced in HoT?

Allona: I have liked the Stronghold matches I’ve played. It will be a good addition to the roster!

Q: How did you get started with the community, what inspired you to get involved?

Celeste: I had been writing for LOTRO Reporter back when it was a blog and Chris had approached me about starting a Guild Wars centric show based on the announcement of GW2. The Guild Wars community was extremely small when I got started or at least I never seemed to know where to find anyone at the time.

Allona: I answered a tweet from Celeste when she needed a guest co-host! It was totally outside of my wheelhouse to do it, but I’m really glad I did!

Q: Why do you think GW2 has such a great community around it?

Celeste: There is competition and the pvp aspects of the game certainly encourage rivalry but it seems as though a lot of the negativity that is normally associated with pvp modes really doesn’t exist in Guild Wars 2. There’s always one player who throws in a “GG (of GF)” at the end of a particularly hard matchup that makes you feel like even if you’re against each other you can still enjoy the game together. That shared experience is at the core of the community. It’s just even more amplified in the PvE side of the game.

Allona: Honestly, I think it’s because of being able to play as much or as little as you’re able and still feel like you’re contributing.

Q: Could Arenanet do more to curate and develop its community?

Celeste: I think that the content creators and community spotlight posts are doing a lot to emphasize the variety of content that’s out there. There’s a lot that they don’t promote because of their emphasis on numbers. A lot of content creators are disappointed when they aren’t featured or are turned down when requesting promotion for an event because they don’t have enough twitch or Youtube subscribers. It’s unfortunate that they’ve chosen to have this focus and removing this sort of barrier would do a world of good to give the promotion a lot more diversity.

Allona: Everyone could always do more, right? I, like Celeste, enjoy the community spotlights and REALLY hope they continue! I feel like there used to be more promotion of blogs and podcasts and it would be great if that made a return.

Q: What changes (if at all) have you seen in the community since you started playing GW2?

Celeste: There’s been a lot of turnover in people because the game has such a low entry level you’ll hear about people leaving, entering for the first time, or coming back after a year or more. Nobody sticks around if they hate the game so the community is constantly being refreshed by new and returning positive players.

Allona: It’s hard for me to gauge, because of my shift to being a co-host on GW2. I guess I’m surprised and happy and -- for the most part -- the community has stayed so positive with the growth of the game.

Q: Why did you choose your particular format  [Youtube/Twitch/blogs ect] ?

Celeste: When Chris and I got started the format for the whole MMO Reporter Network was a mix of blogs and audio podcasts. It was natural to follow this format and for a while Guild Wars Reporter was a written blog, mostly consisting of guides on how to maximize your Hall of Monuments and how to get started in the first game. Blogs don’t get a lot of attention and there were certainly a lot more sites that were able to do the same thing I was with more brevity and clarity. I don’t know when we switched over completely to audio podcasts and now we’ve moved on to posting things on Youtube while we’ve always been livestreaming the episodes on twitch (or at least as long as I can remember…)

Allona: I fell into this by largely a happy accident. I always preferred audio podcasts, so it’s not surprising I co-host one now.

Q: What content do you create? Anything of note coming up soon?

Celeste: We live record (twitch) an audio podcast every week and also cross-release on our youtube channel. We’re hoping to get a lot of new gameplay and review style videos out after the beta weekend events for Heart of Thorns.

Allona: We live record (twitch) an audio podcast every week and also cross-release on our youtube channel. (teehee, I’m a jerk ... )

Q: How much does the audience and community influence your production/creations?

Celeste: We do a question and answer section alternating with our World versus World 101 segment each week. We try to answer questions for people who may not have been around since the beginning or for those who may be interested in enjoying a game mode other than PvE.

Allona: Outside of the podcast, we engage with the community a lot on our individual Twitter accounts, and we encourage listeners to say ‘hi’ or whatever in-game as well! There are also YouTube and website comments that we answer!

Q: Do you have any advice for people wanting to follow in your footsteps?

Celeste: The amount of care that goes into editing can be daunting. People tend to think all you have to do is add in some audio bumpers and you’re ready to release. For some formats, like video, that’s fine but for audio only versions people expect a more polished presentation.

Allona: Answer calls for co-hosts on Twitter. Seriously though, if you love what you’re talking about and love who you’re talking to, the rest seems to fall into place.

Q: Do you play anything else which you make content for? If so what type of content? Anything of note coming up soon?

Celeste: I stream on my personal Twitch (@CeleOOKIE) sometimes. Sometimes it’s other games. Sometimes there’s lots of cursing.

Allona: I don’t create the content, but I am often in Bog Otter’s Guild Missions videos … does that count?

Q: What type of games do you play for your own enjoyment?

Celeste: While I do love my Guild Wars 2 time, I find myself playing a lot of other games casually. Currently I’m enthralled with Shadow of Mordor but I’m also a big fan of Diablo and the Borderlands franchise. I also have a pretty regular engagement with folks in real life to play various board games.

Allona: Other than GW2, I play card games on my phone. I love card games. Oh, and more recently a couple hidden object games … nice diversions!

Q: Who else would you recommend in the GW2 community?

Celeste: Relic of Orr, Hunter’s Insight, The Pale Tree, Guild Gab, Bog Otter, Wooden Potatoes, Irish Dog,  Omnipotent Toaster (Academy Gaming), and there are still so many others that are awesome and deserve even more recognition.

Allona: Relics of Orr, Guild Mag, Hunter’s Insight blog, The Pale Tree blog, MMO Inks, Bog Otter, Wooden Potatoes, Irish Dog (he has really good ‘beginners’ videos), gah! I’m forgetting a bunch I know it!

Q: Who is your favourite Youtuber/streamer [non GW2]?

Celeste: PBS Idea Channel on Youtube makes me unreasonably happy. Nerdy Nummies too.

Allona: Good Mythical Morning

Q: If you could ask another creator or a GW2 developer/community moderator a question, who would it be and what would you ask them?

Celeste: What do you need from your community to feel like all the effort is worthwhile?

Allona: Who wants go out and have coffee, ‘fruit juice’, laugh, chat … whatever? (A dream meet-up, basically!)

GW2 Community Creators Spotlight - GuildMag's Valiant

Q: What do you do in the Guild Wars community and where can everyone find you?

A: I’m the current administrator for GuildMag, which is a Guild Wars 2 fansite that’s been running for over 5 years. We’re known for our free digital magazines, which cover all aspects of Guild Wars-related content including lore, fiction, art, editorials and the odd developer interview and giveaway.
In addition to the magazine, GuildMag also produces regular in-depth blog posts covering the latest news and analysis, as well as a podcast. All of this can be found at www.guildmag.com, or by following our Twitter account @GuildMag! You can find me through my own Twitter account: @ValiantGW.

  

Q: Did you hear of/play GW1 and what was your experiences/ you're impressions? What is your earliest memory if so?

A: I played the original Guild Wars trilogy of campaigns, and EoTN expansion, almost exclusively when they came out. For most of my early teenage years, the Guild Wars franchise was the only PC game I played, and I enjoyed every minute of it (I was more of a console gamer at that time).

Most of my fondest memories of that time were coming home from school and disappearing into another world for a few hours, playing with friends who also had the game. I especially enjoyed the Halloween and Wintersday events each year as a great change of pace; I remember one year in particular, a friend and I had a race to 1000k (the maximum platinum pieces you can store in your vault) during Wintersday, and though both of us finished about 100k short, it was still great fun.

Q: Did you/are you playing other MMO's? What attracted you to them?

A: I’ve tried most of the major MMOs that have come out over the years, with the only exception being World of Warcraft. Each time I’ve begun a new MMO, I’ve always found myself coming back to Tyria mostly because it’s what I’ve grown up with and know so well. The only exception to that so far is Final Fantasy XIV. I’ve been playing that for over a year now, despite it being a subscription-based MMO. For me, it’s unashamedly all about the holy trinity, and that’s something that I enjoy being part of as a break from Guild Wars 2. I play as a healer, and appreciate having a defined role within a party that directly contributes to success or failure. Not to mention that Final Fantasy XIV has some fantastic raids and group content with a high degree of difficulty, which is something I would love to see Guild Wars 2 incorporate somehow.

Q: When did you start playing GW2 and what got you involved in the game itself?

A: For me, my journey with Guild Wars 2 began properly when I joined GuildMag back in 2010. Being part of the fansite, I kept up to date on each new blog post from ArenaNet during its years of development until I finally got my hands on the game during the first Beta Weekend Event. I played through all of these events, and then officially began my time in Guild Wars 2 during the headstart event.

Q: How do you feel about the upcoming expansion HoT?

A: I’ve been ready for an expansion for a long time now, and I’m really looking forward to seeing what it brings. We’ve been hearing a lot about the new elite specializations at the moment, and I’m excited to see how they’re going to shake up the current professions, especially in group PvE content like dungeons and (hopefully) raid-style challenges. The elite specializations are definitely leaning towards helping define roles for players within a party, and this is one of the reasons why I also love playing Final Fantasy XIV so much - hopefully ArenaNet get it right for Heart of Thorns.

Q: What class do you main/ What is your least liked class and why?

A: Guardian! My charr guardian was the first character I created in the game, and it’s still my main. As for my least liked profession, I’d have to say engineer. It’s never really a profession that I’ve been attracted to; turrets and rifles aren’t the reason I play Guild Wars 2 and turret-based classes in any game I’ve always tended to stay away from.

Q: What is your preferred game mode/Have you been drawn to any other modes?

A: I’m mostly a PvE player, spending most of my time in instanced content or the Silverwastes. Much of my time in-game is spent farming for legendary weapons - or other gear in general - these days, and that’s what I consider myself good at. In terms of PvP and WvW, I venture into them occasionally but not for long enough to become really dedicated to either one. I like to think that if I did, I’d naturally be the best in the world at them - that’s not too far-fetched, right?

For MMOs like Guild Wars 2, I play for the story and PvE aspects rather than any sort of PvP. I enjoy gearing up characters and tackling difficult content, the latter of which I feel is somewhat missing at the moment. I remember when everyone first started playing, we thought that the Ascalon Catacombs was the most difficult thing ever. Being under-geared and inexperienced probably had a lot to do with that, but then the dungeon nerfs came, and with them I think we lost a little sparkle. These days, dungeon farming is all about stacking and berserker speedclears, which after years of doing, I’ve become bored of. I’d love to have real difficulty put back into PvE content that challenges the assumption that I know how to play my profession well. This is something I’ve covered in more detail in a blog post on GuildMag when I played in the first Heart of Thorns closed beta stress test.

Q: Do you play Dungeons, if so, what one is your favourite and what do you think to the Dungeon clearing meta?

A: Ever since it was released, my favourite dungeon path has been TA: Aetherpath, purely for its difficulty. This is a dungeon where stacking, for a large part, isn’t optimal - or even possible - and on that basis alone, it’s a breath of fresh air. It’s really unfortunate that nobody particularly runs this path, because it’s well-designed and interesting to tackle; the problem is that the rewards aren’t worth the investment, and never will be unless they’re overhauled.

If ArenaNet plan to include more dungeons, or any instanced content, in Heart of Thorns, this is a problem they're going to have to tackle head-on. For people like me, the rewards for running a piece of content always need to be worth the time it takes to do it, otherwise what’s the point? Unique skins, titles and other items make the most sense for me; if TA: Aetherpath had its own token system for awesome-looking skins, I’m sure many more people would take the time to learn and run it.

Q: What is your opinion on the lore of the game?

A: The lore of the Guild Wars universe has always been fantastically rich and interesting. Through my time at GuildMag, I’ve learnt so much more lore than I ever would have otherwise, and it’s made my time in-game all the better for it. We’ve got some amazing people on the team who just seem to know everything there is to know about it - hi Draxynnic! - and it’s been great reading the lore articles we’ve produced over the years.

In Guild Wars 2, I’ve felt at times that there could be more opportunities for nostalgia and Guild Wars-related lore, and that to come across it you really had to go searching. With things like the new revenant profession, it’s great to see more lore being worked into the game in a way that’s accessible to a lot of people, regardless of whether you’ve played any of the games before this one. To this end, we’re actually working on a project to try and make lore more easily accessible as a fansite. Right now, for anyone that’s interested in lore, you have to do a lot of digging yourself in some rather obscure locations. We’re hoping to make it easier for everyone to engage with the rich lore of Tyria, and hopefully I’ll be able to reveal what we’ve been working on within the next couple of months.

Q: Is there a place, theme or person you would want new content to include?

A: Anyone who knows me is aware that Rytlock is my absolute favourite NPC in Guild Wars 2. He’s a badass charr who’s about to become the first revenant - what more could you want?! I’m looking forward to seeing his role in Heart of Thorns and beyond.

In terms of a place, Elona has always been my favourite. I’d love to see it re-imagined in Guild Wars 2 at some point down the line, with its arid deserts and golden bazaars (not that I’d expect them to still be standing thanks to Palawa Joko’s undead reign). The Realm of Torment was an awesomely nightmarish place to visit, and I’d like to be able to revisit it too - or even the Underworld or Fissue of Woe. Any of those dark, god-infested realms would be great to fight through.  

Q: How did you get started with the community, what inspired you to get involved?

A: Most of my involvement in the community has been because of GuildMag. I joined as an editor in October 2010 after seeing the first couple of issues of the magazine. It looked like a really interesting project to be part of and spend my time helping with as a break from being in-game, but also still connected to it.

I spent my first year editing articles and doing some occasional writing, taking part in whatever I could to help the site. In 2012, I became joint administrator along with Ollannach, overseeing our website content and eventually the technical side of running the site. Finally at the end of the summer of 2014, Ollannach stepped down and I became the sole administrator of the website.

Q: What changes (if at all) have you seen in the community since you started playing GW2?

A: Before the game’s release, there were a huge array of active fansites covering all sorts of areas, and it was great to collaborate with those we could. These days, a lot of the fansite activity has unfortunately died down. There are still the veteran sites like GuildMag, Guild Wars 2 Guru, DragonSeason and more that are going strong, but it’s much more of a struggle to engage people with content these days. Years ago everyone was aboard the hype train before release, and there was always content to cover - nowadays, we’ve had to shift to covering not only Guild Wars 2 news and developments, but also new areas of content that nobody else is doing. It’s sad to say that GuildMag’s witnessed the decline of a lot of great fansites; I think it’s important for everyone to remember that we all do this out of our own pockets, and if you enjoy the content a particular fansite produces, then let them know! Share it around your friends and engage with it however you can -  including volunteering yourself if you’re interested!

Q: Could Arenanet do more to curate and develop its community?

A: ArenaNet has always been great to GuildMag, offering us numerous interviews, content previews and even the odd bundle of prizes to give away, and I’d love to see this continue in the future. There’s been a bit of controversy as of late in regards to how ArenaNet approaches popular streamers and YouTubers compared to the traditional fansites that have been there from the beginning, and I definitely agree that it would be fantastic to see more fansites given the same opportunities such as streaming to the official channel (some of us have some great streamer personalities within our teams).

Q: How much does the audience and community influence your production/creations?

A: A lot! We try and balance each magazine issue with a variety of articles so that there’s something for everyone. We’re also constantly looking at how well our web articles are received, and what sort of content our readers engage with the most.

On a personal level, it’s great when the community reacts well to something you’ve produced, and that’s always been my aim. I tend to measure ideas against whether or not they add value to the community, so that if it’s something that’s been written about to death already with no new insights, I’ll work on something else instead.

Q: What type of games do you play for your own enjoyment?

A: I play a lot of single player RPGs, my favourite so far being the Dragon Age series. I also really enjoy hack-and-slash games such as the Devil May Cry series, Darksiders, Bayonetta and a fairly little-known game called Nier, which to date is my favourite game ever.

Aside from Guild Wars 2 and Final Fantasy XIV, I play League of Legends a fair amount too. I’m quite a competitive person, and this is my go-to game if I’m after some PvP action, which is probably a big reason why I’ve never really got into Guild Wars 2’s PvP.

Q: Who else would you recommend in the GW2 community?

A: If you’re on Twitter, I’d highly suggest following @DragonSeasonCom for the latest news and live discussion on Guild Wars 2. Tilion’s constantly tweeting through their account, and it’s well worth a follow.

Q: If you could ask another creator or a GW2 developer/community moderator a question, who would it be and what would you ask them?

A: I’d love to ask Dulfy how she’s so quick at producing everything she does. It’s amazing how fast Dulfy can get content out, and it’s just impossible to compete with!

GW2 Community Creators Spotlight - Dragon Season's Tilion and Criina

Q: What do you do in the Guild Wars community and where can everyone find you?

Tilion: To be honest I'm not that good at talking about myself. Let's see... I guess I like bringing people closer and making them happy. The community of Guild Wars has given me the opportunity to make that a reality. It's been so nice all these years coexisting with such a kind and helpful bunch that aims to drive the MMO genre forward.

People can find me either working on DragonSeason.com or mumbling over @DragonSeasonCom on twitter.

Criina: Right now I am an active writer for a Guild Wars website called Dragon Season. I am also an officer for Love And War [LAW] on Blackgate where I help to try and unify the game community with public events like the quaggan parade back on May 25th. In general though, I’m usually farming Cursed Shore or PvPing with my close guild friends. I like to think that I do pretty much everything. Guild missions, WvW, PvP. I enjoy the game but most importantly, I enjoy my friends there. They make it worth playing.

Tracking me down, honestly the fastest way is probably my Twitter @criinamancer where you’ll see just random junk blabbed about. However you can find me on Dragon Season, my guild’s website, and my email mesmerbutterflies@gmail.com. I would tell you my YouTube and website, buuut I haven’t set them up yet aha.

Q: Did you hear of/play GW1 and what was your experiences/ your impressions? What is your earliest memory if so?

Tilion: I sadly started getting involved with the first game of the franchise at its dusk. Guild Wars 2 had already been announced and that's what attracted my attention. Heard from somewhere that there was a way to earn some rewards in the sequel by completing various tasks in its predecessor, so I decided to give that a try.

Overall it left me with nothing but good impressions. It marked a turning point in my life where I started considering game development as something more than a simple way of entertainment. I made some good friends that made me realize how important it is to have people that care about you.

So, yeah... That's what Guild Wars has been for me. Basically my first interaction with a well-organized and highly civilized online community.

Q: Did you/are you playing other MMO's? What attracted you to them?

Tilion: I did try some other MMOs in the past and I can tell you what didn't attract me to them. MMOs are not typical video games. For many people they offer an alternate reality, a world where they can leave behind all troubles of everyday life and embrace some peaceful moments spent among people of the same interests. Take that away by putting a subscription fee on top of the package, establish a relationship built on addiction and you've got nothing.

ArenaNet broke those standards for me and that's one of the reasons I'm here today.

Criina: I started playing Guild Wars 2 in December 2012 because there was that lul in WoW content where I had NOTHING to do and it was Christmas time so I just bought it because I could. I did have to take a break like 3 months after I had started playing due to health troubles and I actually just came not recently. I actually wasn’t a very involved player until I came back. I was very fortunate to have found [LAW] before taking a break and my friend and fellow officer Toff made it very easy for me to come back.

Q: When did you start playing GW2 and what got you involved in the game itself?

Tilion: It was a friend, darn him. Haha, I'm kidding. I couldn't be more thankful to be honest. I can't imagine my life going down a different route

I've been around since day one and even before that during the betas. It's been a hell of a ride.

What got me interested was the way GW2 was developed. Its orientation, the fact that it was promoted as having its focus on the players. ArenaNet could be a subject of study if you ask me. A huge school where we've all learned from both the achievements and the flaws.

Q: What have you enjoyed about GW2 and what has kept you playing?

Tilion: Most of all I think I've enjoyed the world itself, the lore, the setting and how everything used to evolve with the constant flow of updates. I've really appreciated the interaction not only between the members of the community but also from the creators themselves.

These days, while waiting for the arrival of the game's first expansion I find myself PvPing a lot. I like it cause it's fun and really fast-paced. The real reason I'm still around though is because my friends are here and they mean everything to me.

Criina: Seriously have enjoyed pretty much everything in the game. Except the awful process of leveling your crafting. And you know, not being that lucky little ba-- I mean person to have gotten a precursor to drop

Q: What has been your favourite memory of GW2?

Tilion: Every time I'm asked this question my mind always goes back to the very first fews weeks after the game's launch. Those really were the most fun. No one cared about being optimal or truly achieving something. We all had a vast world in front of us waiting to be explored.

I remember doing this particular event with a friend somewhere in Wayfarer Foothills that had accidentally overscaled so much that had us go against a horde of rampaging bears. Of course, us being underleveled and gearless didn't help the situation at all. We kept running around a massive Norn table in the interior of a lodge trying to avoid these honeysuckers from getting their claws on us. Oh man... I live for such moments.

Criina: I think forever that it will be the quaggan parade. There really aren’t enough words for me to describe it. I’ll just direct you to my very first Dragon Season article for details about that historical event.

Q: How do you feel about the upcoming expansion HoT?

Tilion: I love it! I really like what they've announced so far. It looks forward while taking under consideration what has been proven to be successful in the past.

Could they bring more with it? I'm definitely certain about this. They've done lots of mistakes in the past that cost them both time and held them back from planning ahead. It's a good step though towards an even greater future for Guild Wars 2.

Criina: I’m extremely excited because it’s more amazing content, music, art, lore, just everything! I’m also extremely curious if any of my theories are going to follow through concerning Modremoth, other select Elder Dragons, and the Sylvari (specifically the Nightmare Court).

Q: What class do you main/ What is your least liked class and why?

Tilion: I usually say I main a Warrior but that’s totally not the case. I mean I do, but I think that the class that I enjoy the most is the Engineer. Engis can literally do everything. They can cover every role in the game and they require a certain amount of skillfulness to actually have an impact on the battlefield. Moreover, all those gadgets they carry along make you feel like Batman. Who could counter such an argument?

The professions I don’t like that much are, the Ele and the Thief. That’s probably because they are too squishy for my standards. Even though I have a level 80 of each, I just can’t get used to their playstyle.

Criina: I main Mesmer! Always have and always will! I cannot stand necromancers. Yes I have played one before someone jumps the gun. I just find them SO boring.

Q: What is your preferred game mode/Have you been drawn to any other modes?

Tilion: PvE and PvP I’d say. I’m not that much attracted to WvW cause I always imagined it to play out a little different prior to the game’s launch. Thought that staying away from the main zerg, helping out your own way, would be rewarding. I’m still waiting for this game mode to be a little bit spiced up till I can dedicate a part of my playtime to it.

Criina: I’m guessing you mean PvE or PvP? Aha, well I’ve always had a balance of both going no matter what game really. I do get in moods where I will do one more over the other though.

Q: What has drawn you to your game mode of choice?

Tilion: I play in PvE to track down rewards and achievements and advance the story whenever there’s more added to it. Would surely like to see some challenging content showing up there because sometimes what truly matters is the moments, stories that are left behind to be told and brag about.

PvP on the other hand offers exactly that. Even when you play Conquest for years, with the same rotation of maps, every single match will be a different experience to you. You will have fun because in most of the cases your opponent will be unpredictable, demanding from you to adapt to their playstyle if you want to get any better.

Q: Has it changed since you started playing? If so, how?

Tilion: We saw the introduction of the Living World concept at some point in the past so no one can deny that there have been additions. ArenaNet experimented for years with some ideas that will hopefully help its designers while planning ahead.

When it comes to PvP, the most noteworthy improvement in my opinion is the introduction of Reward Tracks. Those provided me with an incentive to spend more in this game mode and actually fall in love with it.

Criina: Aside from balancing things and metas (that I refuse to touch), not really. I’ve changed builds a lot if anything. Just testing out my own custom stuff.

Q: Do you have a favourite memory of this game mode?

Tilion: I’ll tell you about my favourite moments in PvP. Those games when both teams are almost equal and the score remains close till the very end? Man, those are the best. This has happened to me quite a few times and it’s one of the reasons I keep doing PvP. It’s that thrill and passion that derives from the players that has you coming back for more and more.

Q: How important is this game mode to the overall game? Do you think GW2 could be as successful without it?

Tilion: Guild Wars 2 can be successful without all but three things in my opinion: Its buy to play model, its combat system and the artistic value that it brings along. Every other feature that it offers can be expendable at the time being until their time comes to shine. That is, until they go a step further from the competition and show something that’s truly unique in their field.
Q: What is your opinion on the lore of the game?

Tilion: The world of Guild Wars 2 is quite immersive. There’s so much detail into the races and their cultures, the hierarchies and the overall movement of the world. The writers have even come up with different alphabets to support that impressive level of world building.

Additionally, the characters are formed in a way that stand out for themselves. People recognize them and even care about them and their future. That’s always something nice to see in a video game.

Criina: I think the lore of this game is very extensive! Of course there are somethings we don’t know like where the Forgotten are/went, the true name of the deep sea elder dragon who we’ve been calling Bubbles for years, the wizard tower/castle in the sky! There are mysteries that leave me wondering. I’m always looking forward to hearing new lore, honestly. Not that I’ve completely looked over everything already, I’m taking my time with reading over everything, but new is always good!

Q: Is there a place, theme or person you would want new content to include?

Tilion: May I say everything Guild Wars 1? Seriously, there were so many interesting storylines and characters in the first game that I find it to be a bit disappointing that there’s so few tie-ins to them in the sequel. I’m quite glad of course that they realized that during Living World Season 2 and worked towards improving those connections. Still, I’d like to see even more hints like them getting dropped here and there when possible.

Criina: I seriously hope the Nightmare Court/Faolain. I have my own speculation about them in particular.

Q: What do you speculate as the next possible race?

Tilion: Oh Gosh. I’d love for it to be the Hylek but I seriously doubt it. I find frogs to be too cute. Talking frogpeople? Well, when I first realized those exist in the Guild Wars universe I was squeeing! They remind me of some fairy tales I used to read as a kid that had to do with a village of talking animals hidden deep within a forest.

I doubt they will ever turn the Hylek into a playable race ever though, cause most people do not share the same affection towards them as I do. Come on guys, froggies deserve some love!

Criina: Truth be told, I’ve never put thought into it. Reason for this is generally because there is either nothing in current game that I can see becoming a legit playable race and second is usually when a new playable is released, it’s generally something people have never seen before.

Q: What crafting discipline did you level up first and why?

Tilion: For no particular reason I think it was Chef. Ok, I lied. I may have a thing for good food.

Criina: I leveled Tailoring first because for one, I’m a Mesmer so I could make ascended gear for myself. The latter is because I was crafting Mawdrey and I needed Bloodstone Bricks and materials like that that you couldn’t buy.

Q: What is your favourite PvE content [Jumping Puzzles, Guild Missions, World Bosses, dungeons etc] and why?

Tilion: I’ll go with dungeons. Even at their current state where they have seen so few updates since launch, I have a good time going through them with a group of friends. I believe that ArenaNet should get back to this type of gameplay and offer more options to those that enjoy instanced group content.

Criina: I don’t think I have a favourite really, but if I did, it certainly wouldn’t be guild missions.

Q: Do you play Dungeons, if so, which one is your favourite and what do you think about the Dungeon clearing meta?

Tilion: My favourite dungeons are those that require some kind of tactic. Take Fractal of the Mists for example or the Twilight Aetherpath. Wish more followed their standards.

As for the speedrunning meta, I don’t really mind it to be honest. It will always be there no matter how content is designed. I don’t strictly follow it myself but I won’t badmouth those that do so either. Seemingly, I expect the same treatment from their side as well.

Q: Do you do Guild Missions, if so, which one is your favourite and why?

Tilion: Yes, we do run Guild Missions every week with our guild. They basically act as the time for us to come together and do something together. I think that’s why we mostly enjoy them.

Our favourite has to be the bounty of ‘Trilia Midwell’ I think, as we are asked to bring her in every single week. It’s more of an urban legend we have come up with rather than a mere coincidence.

Criina: I do in fact. I prefer the bounty just because it’s the simplest.

Q: What do you think of the current Meta, do you think this will change?

Criina: I am one of those people who say “forget the meta and play what you want”. You can in fact make this awesome kick ass build that no one else has, it pulls the same or even more damage than what is claimed to be “meta”, and so on. I hate that people all attune to the cookie-cutter builds 99% of the time. I actually have made several of my own builds and they perform at the same efficiency or better than the supposed meta. As far as metas changing, it will be an ever changing thing just due to balancing and ability changes.

Q: What is your favourite WvW map and why?

Criina: Man I love TCBL. I like how it’s laid out, honestly.

Q: What build do you use and could you tell me why you enjoy it so much?

Criina: My build is a custom build that I like to call Glamourous Power. I enjoy it a lot because it’s a mixed set of raw power and utility glamour skills that is extremely annoying for opposing players to deal with. Blinds, confusions, stuns, all that fun to not only slow them down, but to help keep my group alive.

Q: Do you do a lot of theory-crafting, if so, how has this affected the way you play?

Criina: My theorycrafting started in WoW as a competitive raider. It’s somehow transferred over to most of the MMO’s I play ha ha. I don’t currently do as much as I did then in WoW, but I can promise you that it’ll boost 110% when thinking of my builds for HoT. I’ve in fact had my general build semi put together for months now. Regarding gameplay, I actually am a lot more critical of how not only I play but also how other mesmers play. I want damage output, critical strikes, condi and boon duration, power, the whole 9 yards. However this has made me a slight elitist regarding the class and has me picking apart every mezzie I see. It’s good and bad pretty much. At least in my eyes.

Q: What do you think to the up-coming changes to WvW with HoT and how will this impact the WvW community?

Criina: I haven’t really looked into it too much but I think the new borderland will be interesting and give a new vibe to the community.

Q: What do you  enjoy so much about the profession you play as most and why?

Criina: Pretty sure you know the answer here! Mesmer. I enjoy it so much just due to the fact that it’s fast paced. At least with the way I play.

Q: What build do you run for that class?

Criina: I play two different builds, again both are custom. One is Frightening Images and the other is Powerful Backlash.

Q: What is your favourite/least favourite PvP map and why?

Criina: Favourite maps are probably Foefire and Kylo. I like the setup of Kylo especially because if I get stuck guarding a point, at least I can watch what’s going on in mid or scout the trebs. Skyhammer, Courtyard, Stronghold. Worst. Maps. Ever.

Q: How do you feel about the new PvP mode to be introduced in HoT?

Criina:What the Stronghold arena? Um. It’s very...MOBA like. A gaming style I don’t like. So it’s going to be another map for me to avoid.

Q: How did you get started with the community, what inspired you to get involved?

Criina: My close friend and guildie, Schilly, was really the starting point. I’m a very quiet and shy person when it comes to community/large scale things so I usually try to stay out of things like that. However thanks to him, along with my guild Love And War, I hosted my first large scale event, my Quaggan Parade.

Q: Why do you think GW2 has such a great community around it?

Tilion: The reason for that is because it’s been nurtured quite properly by the design standards of the game. A few examples of that would be that the players don’t fight over gathering nodes, every profession can heal itself and ress others. The devs have adopted that as part of their philosophy when they sit down to come up with something new.

Of course, there’s still work that needs to be done to drive that behavior even further and I’m sure that no implementation goes without missing a few turns.

Criina: I actually feel that there’s always room for improvement community wise because I do see more trolls in chat than anything. However, I do also see times where people are kind and helpful and it makes me smile. Having events like the Quaggan Parade pulls the community together to laugh and forget their troubles, even if it’s for an hour or so.

Q:  What changes (if at all) have you seen in the community since you started playing GW2?

Criina: I’ve noticed a higher tolerance to “noobish” questions. People don’t really rag on new players as much and it makes me happy.

Q: Could Arenanet do more to curate and develop its community?

Tilion: Yes, they could. First of all there’s no community department within the company these days. That has evolved into the current marketing team. The interaction that team has with the community is not constant as it revolves around just a couple of tweets or facebook replies per week. The image of the community that is promoted across all official media is that of individual personas who mostly praise everything even during idle times.

What needs to be done? They should just take a look at what they’ve done right in the past. They need to think of the community as a group and spend more time bringing it closer to development by promoting its creative side.

Criina: I think the community itself is down to the players. We make the community. Therefore, it is our responsibility.

Q: Anything of note coming up soon?

Criina: I did mention I have been playing TERA Online for a long time now, and I may make my return to WildStar in the fall when it goes f2p, but I don’t think I could handle covering more than one game right now ha ha. I already have things piling up as it is!

Q: What type of games do you play for your own enjoyment?

Criina: For the past few years, my face has been shoved into MMO’s more than anything. I recently have had my love of Final Fantasy and consoles renewed so I’m going to be diving into Halo, Assassin’s Creed, and the Final Fantasy XIII trilogy. I’m also a massive Left 4 Dead fan.

Q: Who else would you recommend in the GW2 community?

Tilion: If you guys haven’t done so already you ought to check out ‘Relics of Orr’ and ‘Guild Wars Reporter’. Both of their communities consist of true fans of the game that deserve each and everyone’s attention. They are hard-working, producing content on a weekly basis which they publish on their sites/channels, and their opinions are objective, something that I personally value a lot.

Criina: I recommend WoodenPotatoes of course. My guild and followers on Twitter are diehard believers than I’m in love with him, but I just really enjoy the stuff he comes out with. I also recommend Chronicle of Tyria that my friend Varr writes. It’s very much worth looking into.

Q: Who is your favourite Youtuber/Streamer [non gw2]?

Criina: I would probably have to say Chilled Chaos. He’s such a hilarious guy and it’s pretty great when he plays Mario Kart.