On July 13, the boss “Twisted Marionette” returns to Guild Wars 2. This boss fight was last playable in early 2014 and is considered one of the best in the MMORPG. We at MeinMMO spoke with Design Lead Joe Kimmes about the Marionette in an interview.
What kind of boss fight is it? The Twisted Marionette was a massive superweapon of the insane Sylvari Scarlett Briar. Scarlett could control it from her airship, and players had to gather in large numbers to stop the Marionette, which required a lot of coordination.
The Marionette was part of Season 1 of the Living World, the first major story content that Guild Wars 2 received after its release. However, this phase was very special, as all content disappeared from the game within a few weeks to keep the world “alive”.
After more than 7 years, the Marionette is returning in a special event, giving veterans and newcomers the chance to experience the old fight again. And we have learned some details about the fight and the rewards.
A first glimpse into the fight is provided by this new trailer:
A modern version of the Marionette with new rewards
MeinMMO: What has changed since the last time we saw the Marionette in 2014?
Joe Kimmes: While we retained the core of the original fight and its structure, there were both technical changes to fix bugs or equip scripts with newer tools, as well as changes to modernize the enemy fight mechanics, such as how to stun players, display attacks, or how enemies scale with the number of players.
A concrete example of an adjustment is the fights against the guardians – the lane teams are split into 5 bosses, and previously, once your boss was defeated, you could only hope that the other teams would also succeed.
Now, while you still have to contribute, the victorious teams now gain a special ability that provides a buff to the players still in combat, giving them a boost across the finish line.
MeinMMO: And what about rewards? What can players look forward to?
Joe Kimmes: The rewards from the boss fight have also been adjusted to modern standards, with more loot available when players disable the Marionette’s support chains.
Additionally, we will be running a bonus event around the fight during the week of reintroduction – by participating in successful victories over the Marionette, players can earn additional rewards and some special mementos of the fight.
After the bonus event, the Marionette will remain forever – as a strike mission.
“Its scale and player coordination made it one of the most impressive fights”
MeinMMO: Why did you decide to bring back the Marionette and not other content from Season 1 of the Living World?
Joe Kimmes: The Marionette was a memorable encounter for the players who experienced it back then – its scale and the coordination required to take it down made it one of the most impressive fights in the game at the time.
It is also relatively standalone content, meaning no complete introduction to the Season 1 storyline is needed to join in and participate in the fight. We have wanted to bring it back for a long time, and various projects have made it possible over time – the return of some missions from Season 1 in “Visions of the Past” and the group instance in “Dragonstorm” showed that it would be possible to revive the Marionette.
MeinMMO: How did you personally experience the fight against the Marionette back then?
Joe Kimmes: I remember defending the lanes and we initially had issues with the Marionette’s minibosses – in the early attempts, my server could hardly hold the lanes against the enemies and failed to defeat the bosses, which ultimately led to the failure of the event.
Over time, we got better and better – by the end of the original event, the server was highly coordinated and brought the Marionette down with ease.
Will we ever get the entire Living World Season 1 back?
MeinMMO: You have already brought back some instances from Living World Season 1 with “Visions of the Past.” Now you’re bringing the Marionette back into the game. Can we expect more content from LW1 in the future? And are you considering eventually bringing back the entire season to complete the story chronicle?
Joe Kimmes: Every piece of Season 1 that we have brought back has helped prove that it is not gone forever. We also need to keep an eye on the future, so things like the upcoming expansion “End of Dragons” take priority, but I hope that one day we will see a true return of Season 1 so that players can enjoy it again or for the first time.
Steam version will only launch after the new expansion
MeinMMO: A few months ago, you announced a Steam version and then postponed it in favor of the expansion. Now you’ve postponed the expansion to 2022. Does this increase the chances of an earlier Steam release?
Joe Kimmes: Currently, the studio’s focus is almost entirely on bringing the expansion End of Dragons to our fans. We want to ensure that we deliver the best experience for a new audience, so we will reassess the work needed for a Steam release after the expansion launches.
Thank you Joe Kimmes for answering our questions.
The new expansion End of Dragons is set to be presented in detail at the end of July. Everything we know so far has been collected here: Guild Wars 2: Everything we know about the new expansion End of Dragons
