Eye of the North heroes: Pyre Fierceshot

Eye of the North introduces several new heroes, and one of them in particular is a bit of a surprise. Pyre Fierceshot is a Charr. Didn't think you'd be inviting a Charr to join your party, did you? On top of that, the missions and quests that Pyre opens up require you to not only team up with Charr, but actually help them out.

As his name implies, Pyre Fierceshot is a Ranger. His default skills are:

• Dual Shot
• Kindle Arrows
• Resurrection Signet
• Savage Shot
• Throw Dirt
  Troll UnguentPyre has Ranger armour labelled as a Charr set, with an armour rating of 13-70, depending on level. His armour bonuses are:
  
• +30 to Elemental damage
• +5 to energy on his chest armour
• +1 to energy regeneration on his leg armour

You first meet Pyre in Grothmar Wargrounds, during the quest "Against the Charr". To recruit Pyre, you have to complete the Primary Ebon Vanguard quest "Warband of Brothers". On completion, Pyre is unlocked as a hero, and can be used in your party.Pyre is an excellent Hero addition to your party in Eye of the North. Having a Charr is fun anyway, and if you need a Ranger, Pyre tends to obey orders and run off less than Acolyte Jin - which can be a real life saver on some missions.

Screenshot of the Week - "A Usual Day Dream"

Have a peek at this week's featured screenshot from Trails of Tears:

State of the Game: Eye of the North

For the first time, Guild Wars introduces new skills without new professions. The ten non-elite skills per profession introduced in Eye of the North have had decidedly less impact on the GvG metagame than the dramatic upheavals of Factions and Nightfall. But this doesn't mean the new skills show no promise. Some guilds have already begun incorporating GW:EN skills into existing builds, while others seem primed to make an impact in the near future.
Backline
Although Monks have many interesting new tools, equipping any of these on an already crowded Skill Bar means something useful has to go. Cure Hex seems like a natural fit on Light of Deliverance Monk bars, where the healing power of the skill might compensate for losing the utility of Holy Veil. Aura of Stability has already found its way onto some Heroes' Ascent Monk bars, but many HA teams have three Monks, while GvG teams tend to use just two Monks. So, as most Protection Monks already have more viable skills than they can use, Aura of Stability may have trouble finding a niche in Guild Battles.
Castigation Signet shows promise as non-elite Energy management. With just eight ranks in Smiting Prayers, a good micromanager can net six Energy every fifteen seconds while damaging an attacker. Best of all, a Mo/A can bring this signet for Energy management without giving up an elite slot or escape skills.

State of the Game

The latest edition of the State of the Game article series has been posted on the Guild Wars official site. This article covers the usefulness of the secondary profession.

Guild Wars characters are based on one simple but ingenious system--each character may use one primary profession and one secondary profession. Although it may seem like players use skills mainly from their primary professions, the secondary profession can actually have an enormous impact on the success and usefulness of a character, especially within PvP play.
The Ranger
Even though putting together a Skill Bar with only Ranger skills isn't too difficult, Rangers often use a secondary profession. Ranger/Mesmers, for example, were dominant before Distortion was updated. Rangers packed Distortion so they could run flags or split. Distortion was a perfect skill for Rangers because the excellent Energy management provided by Expertise meant they could afford to pay for Distortion's Energy loss.
Nowadays, most Rangers in GvG run as a Ranger/Monk. This is due, in large part, to the skill Mending Touch. With its 5 Energy, three-quarter second cast time, and 6 second recharge time, Rangers using this skill can almost certainly counteract the effects of any Blinding Surge Elementalist or other Condition hate they might run into.
To a lesser extent, Rangers also use Purge Signet. Purge removes all Hexes and Conditions on a target, and it easily fits onto a Ranger's Skill Bar. Purge Signet is much more common when the metagame goes heavy into Hexes. These two skills affect Ranger usage immensely; without them, we would see much less splitting and more Hexes or more Hex removal on non-Monk characters.

Recent Headlines for Guild Wars:Xunlai Tournament House Re-Opens

ArenaNet has announced the re-opening of the Xunlai Tournament House, where players can engage in single combat or attempt to pick the winners for prestige and fame.

Our History
Allow me to speak on the origins of the Xunlai Tournament House.
Long ago, there were two brothers named Laihuen and Minwien. These two brothers were fiercely competitive. When the brothers were young, they would compete against one another for everything -- the longest jump, the swiftest runner, even who could eat food faster! And yet, even though they tried to outdo one another, these two brothers were still very good friends. As adults, they traveled the world, picking up new skills and fighting dangerous monsters. Each year they would return and hold a competition to see who was better -- and they would let others fight, as well! These games became famous, and drew crowds from many kingdoms to bet on the outcome of each battle.
Well, eventually, the brothers both fell in love with the same woman, and... ah, but that's another story. Suffice it to say that one went to Tyria while one stayed in Cantha, and the tournaments stopped for a very long time -- until 1071, when trade between our two countries began once again. The competitions were revived as a way of celebrating the heroes of our shared past, and honoring them was the basis of the Xunlai Tournament House that we have today.

Guild Wars Eye of the North: Region Profile, Gunnar's Hold

The Norn of the Far Shiverpeaks are a wild, independent people. These huge, shapeshifting barbarians are hunters by nature, who trek endlessly across the mountainous, snow-covered territory pursuing their prey. All the creatures of the wild fear and respect their abilities, and the Norn continually seek out the toughest of opponents to test their fighting prowess and expand their reputations. The most powerful and well-respected of the Norn are those who have bested the largest number of the toughest opponents.

The Norn make few permanent homes, and those Norn buildings that do persist longer than a single winter have passed through numerous families and clans throughout their history. Permanent Norn settlements are even fewer, and change hands with similar frequency. Usually a settlement is named after the most powerful of the Norn currently residing there, so the same location may have many names (making it even harder to track the history of this semi-nomadic race). Norn settlements can be abandoned and rebuilt many times, sometimes due to conflicts, but just as often because better hunting has been found elsewhere.

One of the largest of the current Norn settlements is Gunnar's Hold, home of the master Norn armorer Gunnar Poundfist. This large hearthstead towers over the Norrhart Domains in the middle of the Norn hunting territories. As such it is a general gathering point for Norn and other races who pass through the area.

Gunnar established his claim over the hold as both a hunter of renown as well as a smith of great skill, which he learned from the Deldrimor Dwarves who pass through the region. As a result, he is as well-regarded as an armorer as he is a hunter. Given the central location of his hold, he is also mildly more tolerant of non-Norn, which is to say, he does not challenge you to a fight before offering you his hand in greeting.

Gunnar's Hold is also the site of the Norn Arena, an ancient battle pit used by the Norn for settling disagreements in the traditional fashion (through personal combat, of course; sometimes to the death). Magni the Bison, a champion fighter, has invited humans, Norn, and other beings from all over Tyria to compete for the honor of battling the greatest of all Norn fighters--himself. The arena is also used as a base for Kilroy Stonekin, a pugnacious, bare-knuckled Dwarven brawler who is more than willing to teach the sweet science of Dwarven boxing to those willing to help him collect a few debts (and, for some reason, a lot people owe money to this slightly mad Dwarf).

The Norn are a passionate, powerful, and combative people shaped by a life in frigid, snowbound lands. Even in their holds and steadings, they are a force to be reckoned with; they respect only those who can match them in skill and strength and challenge all to prove their worth. When you enter Gunnar's Hold, you'd best be prepared for a fight. You are in their territory now.

Guild Wars: Eye of the North Screenshots