The most talked about and most recognized class the Mesmer was revealed by ArenaNet. They kept their promise on topping off the professions before the year was up. Although I am not super familiar with how the classed worked in the original Guild Wars, I am still satisfied by what has become of it. I knew the Mesmer has the unique ability of doing damage to players by throwing debuffs on them that make it so that they hurt themselves when they executed abilities.

That has carried to the Mesmer in Guild Wars 2. They have access to a unique condition that they can place on enemies called Confusion. When placed on an enemy they take damage every time they use one of their abilities. The confusion condition stacks and can do immense damage to enemies who are skill happy.

The Mesmers are a three-part story, they have Illusions, Mantras, and Shatter effects. Illusions allow Mesmers to create a mind trick in the game. They come in two parts, Clones and Phantasms. The clones are the weaker of the two and mimic the Mesmer. They have low health and do little damage, so I am assuming these are best used when you want to distract your opponent for a moment while you set yourself up with something else.

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Today’s Asura article comes from an update to the Asura race page on the official site, introducing some new wallpapers and an awesome tour video of Rata Sum, their home city. We also have another treat from VG24/7 with an interview with Ree Soesbee and Jeff Grubb talking a bit more about the Asura.

Browsing through the main page update I noticed a peculiar thing, when the Great Destroyer, a minion of the Elder Dragon Primordus awoke and started to wreak havoc, he used the Asura own technology, the Asura gates against them and it spread out its minions and drove the Asura upwards, out to the surface. What makes you great can also be your downfall.

Driven to the surface, they squatted in an ancient ruin and over time though sheer determination and resourcefulness, they built Rata Sum. Rata Sum is a giant floating city in the shape of a cube and it really reflects the ingenuity of the Asuran race.

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Asura week continues as Writer, Angel McCoy takes some time to let us know what it is like writing the Asura.

Since the Asura are very intelligent, the writers can take certain liberties when crafting their vocabulary such as, combining words, making up words or using existing words in strange and unique ways. The dialogue they create gives off that smarty-pants vibe.

Techno Babble

The Asura show off their genius whenever they get the chance, even going as far as exaggerating their accomplishments. In the book Edge of Destiny, Caithe noticed that Snaff would always exaggerate the story of how they gone about defeating minions of the Elder Dragons.

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Guild Wars 2, ArenaNet’s sequel to Guild Wars has really stood out among the rest because of their innovative ideas: Creating a Dynamic event system that does away with the standard quest and progress playstyle; ditching the holy trinity and allowing all classes to tank, DPS, support, and heal in their own way. These new ideas as well as continuing their no-subscription model has made this game soar to the top of everyone’s lists.

For Gamescom and Pax, they showed off PvP for the first time. Conquest is the game and Khylo is the location. Players battle one another to take over key locations, with the assistance of a trebuchet; the task isn’t easy as players can always bomb the other team out of a control point. Movement and teamwork are key as points are gained by defeating the other team in combat and controlling the points; the first to 500 wins.

Aside from PvP, they have also introduced new areas in PvE for players to explore. Players had the opportunity to experience the Charr starter area and witness the ghosts of Ascalon first hand. Players could also play as the Sylvari, a race of honorable plant humanoids as well as the tiny Asura, a race of very intelligent people in the Sparkfly Den where the Undead are laying siege to the area.
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The Sylvari represent the higher ideal of honor, chivalry, and focus to fighting the Elder Dragons, but they are not without their faults. A few have defected and formed the Nightmare Court including Caithe compatriot Faolain. Believing that Ventari Tablet is perverting the Dream of the Sylvari and that they should do whatever it takes to defeat The Elder Dragons. Akin to Dark Jedi they start off having the tendency to skirt the rules even sometimes breaking them to achieve what they think is right.

The Beginning

In the final article by Ree Soesbee, we learn how the Nightmare Court came to be. The first of the second generation, Cadeyrn born the Cycle of Noon was a natural fighter but throughout his experiences, he questioned the teachings of Ventari and the Pale Tree. It all started when Malomedies was return in a mangled state, a victim of reckless experiments by the Asura, he demanded that they seek revenge for all the pain and suffering that Malomedies was going through. Controversially the Pale Tree intervened and told a Firstborn Sylvari, Trahearne who felt the same way as Cadeyrn to seek peace with the Asura. Cadeyrn was disappointed by Trahearne giving in to the Pale Tree as well as, jealous that it also didn’t speak to him.

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