Guild Wars 2 personal stories detailed

ArenaNet has begun detailing how personal stories will function in their upcoming MMO Guild Wars 2.

Writing on the official Guild Wars 2 blog, content designer Leif Chappelle discusses how personal stories for each avatar begin during the character creation process and then lead on to 30 potential story paths in the starter region alone.

“To experience every potential storyline being told from level 1 to 10, you’d need to play the game 30 times (5 races times 3 initial stories times 2 internal branches in each storyline). And that’s just the first ten levels of the game. We have 80 levels of progression for your character, and every ten levels or so, you’ll begin a new chapter in your story. The game does not sputter out at the end, either, as you’ll be experiencing some of the most involved and epic story steps in the game with huge battles and fearsome bosses, but that’s a story for later.”

He explains that grouping with friends will give users the opportunity to see how other alternative storylines pan out without having to create multiple new characters for the same effect.

“If you’re not the type of person to play the same game 30 times, you can always team up with friends that have made different choices and see how things could have played out differently. We have full support for players teaming up in their personal stories. While the tale will still be told from the perspective of the story ‘owner,’ friends who group up and are on the same story step will be able to share their progress when it is completed.”

Those who worry about not having full control of a storyline because of being in group will be able to opt out of the story sharing process however, go back to their version of that step in the plot, and complete it as they wish to.

Beta invites for Guild Wars 2’s upcoming Beta event are in the process of being sent out.