Guild Hex

The Eye of the North expansion to Guild Wars introduced two new races, the Norn and the Asura. Players who bought the pre-release pack were able to play Eye of the North over the Sneak Peek weekend, as a final test before the expansion went live.

The only Primary Quests you could undertake during the Sneak Peek weekend were those of the Norn. Since most people will encounter the Norn first, we’ll be covering them in this article.

The Norn are giant Viking-like warriors who live in the Far Shiverpeaks. Compared to your character they are around 8-9 feet tall. They are skilled hunters who have a close relationship with nature, with the ability to transform into giant bears in battle.

In each explorable area in Eye of the North, Resurrection Shrines are dotted around the landscape. Standing next to each of these shrines are NPCs, who will give you a bonus of 1 Reputation Point for each creature you kill.

This feature was first introduced in Guild Wars: Nightfall, as a way to progress along several new Title Tracks that had been introduced. Building on this idea, in Eye of the North you can also gain random bonuses and an increase in the number of Reputation Points for each kill.

Along with the Norn comes the Norn Title Track, which is used to gain access to Norn NPCs, their quests, and special Norn skills. Until you reach Rank 1, you will not be able to talk to any Norn NPCs in any outposts. At Rank 3 you can get Norn NPCs to craft consumables for you. At Rank 4, you can use the Norn weapon crafters, and at Rank 5 you can use the Norn armour crafters.

Norn Reputation Points are gained from completing Norn quests, missions and dungeons, and killing creatures in explorable areas while under the Norn Hunting Party blessing, which is granted by Norn NPCs near Resurrection Shrines.

As the Norn are suspicious of strangers, each time you talk to a new Norn NPC, they will challenge you to single combat. Only once you have defeated them (a relatively easy task with an 8 person party) will they talk to you.

Once you have the Norn Hunting Party blessing, you will receive one Norn Reputation Point for each creature you kill. After 25 kills, you will gain a random bonus, which can range from short term boosts in strength or abilities, or extra bonus points while you keep defeating monsters.

The chat area will tell you each time you’ve killed another 5 monsters, giving you a running total. For each multiple of 25 kills, you can talk to a new Norn NPC, who will give you a random bonus. This ranges from extra Reputation Points, time limited bonuses, or an increase in your Norn Hunting Party level, giving more Reputation Points per kill.

It’s important to note that you can only get Reputation Points and bonuses from NPCs once. Once you have spoken to an NPC they will not give out any more bonuses. Keep an eye on the map to keep track of where you have travelled – Resurrection Shrines appear on your map, and you can travel back to them to pick up NPC bonuses.

One of the best random bonuses an NPC can give is Strength of the Norn, which is an enchantment spell lasting for 60 seconds. When active you receive +100 health, and after the 60 seconds are up, you’re healed for 100 health.

For each level of the Norn Hunting Party blessing, you receive one extra Reputation Point per kill. For example, Norn Hunting Party Level 3 adds an extra 3 Reputation Points per kill.

Norn NPCs in towns and outposts will only give out certain missions and quests if you have reached a certain Rank in the Norn Title Track. As you progress, it’s worth revisiting outposts to see if any NPCs have new dialogues available.

The new races in Eye of the North, and the associated Title Tracks and bonuses, add another level of depth and involvement to the expansion. Players eager to prove their skill and unlock new and exciting missions.

Tom Kranz is an keen and experienced games player, and has been playing Guild Wars since the beta and it’s UK release. He runs a Guild Wars blog about Eye of the North at http://eyeofthenorth-gw.blogspot.com/

Guild Wars: Eye of the North is the first true expansion to the original installment of the series, Guild Wars. The biggest addition found in Eye of the North is the introduction of two new races. The Asura and the Norn.

The Norn are introduced in the game first. The Norn are giant warriors that hail from the Far Shiverpeaks. The Norn are similar to druid classes in other games, as they have the ability to transform in to a bear during battle.

On the Guild Wars Eye of the North map you’ll see numerous Resurrection Shrines market by a dot. At each resurrection shrine, you’ll find a NPC that will give you 1 Reputation point for each dead creature. The ability to travel down multiple title tracks, is a feature introduced by Arenanet in Guild Wars: Nightfall. Now in Eye of the North you can ear random bonus that will skyrocket your reputation points from time to time. Just like any other Title Track, Reputation points are earned by completing Norn quests and cleaning out dungeons in the area. But now Resurrection Shrines offer you the chance to rack up many reputation points at one time.

The Norn Title Track is obviously a new addition as well. Following this Title Trac will earn you access to Norn NPC’s, Norn Skills, and all quests associated with that track. Norn are very stubborn and won’t even talk to you till you’ve reached Rank 1. At Rank 3 and Rank 4 you earn the ability for crafters to create consumables as well as weapons. At Rank 5 you’ll finally gain access to the Norn armorers.

The fun thing about climbing the ranks of the Norn Title Track is that for every new NPC that you talk to, they will challenge you to one battle before offering you there services. Partying up for these battles isn’t a bad idea.

You should be trying to earn the Norn Hunting Part Blessing as soon as possible. Without the blessing you can’t be rewarded bonuses at the shrines. You should remember that each NPC can only reward you a bonus but once. After the first 25 kills, you’ll be awarded a random bonus for every 5 kills there after during that battle.

Each time you upgrade Norn Hunting Party, you’ll also increase the number of reputation points you receive from these bonus battles. Use these bonus sparingly as you can only be reward once per NPC.

Tom Kranz

The eagerly awaited expansion to the Guild Wars online RPG, Eye of the North, is now released. Eye of the North requires at least one of existing chapters of Guild Wars – Prophecies, Factions, or Nightfall. You can buy the expansion from a retailer, or it’s available from within your Guild Wars client by clicking on the Guild Wars Store icon. Purchasing the expansion this way will take effect immediately, allowing you to instantly explore the new content in Guild Wars: Eye of the North.

Each main town from the three existing Guild Wars chapters will have a new NPC (Non Player Character) – you’ll need to talk to them to receive the mission which takes you to Eye of the North: Characters from the original Guild Wars Prophecies campaign should seek out Len Caldoron in Lion’s Arch and accept the “What Lies Beneath” quest.

Characters from Guild Wars: Factions should seek out Minister of Maintenance Raiugyon in Kaineng Center and accept the “I Feel the Earth Move Under Cantha’s Feet” quest. Characters from Guild Wars: Nightfall should seek out Bendah in Kamadan and accept the “Hole of Istan” quest.

Once you have completed these missions you will find yourself in Boreal Station. You will also notice new purple Asura Gates have appeared on the map – these can be used to transport you direct to Boreal Station in the Eye of the North at any time. Within Eye of the North there are 4 new Title Tracks – Asura, Deldrimor, Ebon Vanguard, and Norn. By undertaking quests for each of the groups, you can gain reputation points, which will increase your rank in the new Title Tracks.

Once you have gained 1000 reputation points, you will reach Rank 1. You will now be able to gain a special Status Effect which will provide bonuses when exploring. As your rank in a Title Track increases, you’ll also open to access to new services:

Rank 3: Access to a special item crafter. Each group has a single item crafter who provides unique and powerful items. You must spend a Skill Point to have these items crafted for you.

Rank 4: Access to an exclusive weapon crafter. Each group has a single weapon crafter who provides unique weapons, such as the Raven Scythe and the Charrslayer Axe.

Rank 5: Access to an exclusive armor crafter. Each group has a single armor crafter who provides single unique armor pieces, such as the Dread Mask or the Magma Gauntlets.

As your Rank increases, so do the bonuses granted from the special status effect your character receives when displaying the Title. There are also 50 new PvE skills in Eye of the North, which can be gained by completing quests for each of the groups. These skills and bonuses will also become more powerful as your Rank in the relevant Title Track increases. Through these new Title Tracks, the Eye of the North expansion provides a lot of extra content and challenges.

Tom Kranz runs an Internet Cafe and Gaming Centre in the UK, which promotes social gaming and Internet technology for everyone. Join in with the community and experience a new take on video games at http://www.theaubergineroom.com