At the release of Guild Wars 2, many players hoped for an active PvP scene and potential eSports. After several attempts, the last official tournament with prize money took place in 2017. But now the community itself is organizing an event that is rich in prizes.
What kind of tournament is this? The streamer MightyTeapot, along with other streamers and well-known PvP players, has organized a large tournament. It is called “Masters of the Arena” and will take place next weekend.
In this event, teams from Europe and North America will compete against each other, having qualified beforehand. As rewards, there are over $13,200 and over 720,000 gold in prizes. Additionally, there is the exclusive title “Community Conqueror” and endless VIP PvP access provided by the developers.
The tournament will take place over the weekend from June 5 to 7:
- Regional finals – June 5 from 6:00 PM
- Regional finals Day 2 – June 6 from 6:00 PM
- Final between EU and NA – June 7 from 6:00 PM
Information and insights into the event are provided by the official trailer for the tournament, also created by the community:
What is special about the event? In addition to the really good prizes for a community tournament, the “Masters of the Arena” shows that PvP is still loved and supported by players.
Aside from balance changes and regular seasons, there has been little movement in the PvP scene in recent years. The biggest innovation was tournaments in the Swiss system and a short 2v2 season that I, Alexander Leitsch, really enjoyed.
This is also due to many poor decisions made by the developers.
The PvP scene in Guild Wars 2 has always struggled with problems
How did PvP develop? Actually, Guild Wars 2 was supposed to have a wide range of content for PvP fans at launch, including its own arenas for tournaments and events. Some PvP games were already showcased at gamescom 2011.
Following this, a community formed that hoped Guild Wars 2 could become a successful PvP MMORPG.
But at launch, the arenas were not implemented. They only arrived in spring 2013, when the initial hype around the game had already faded.
First tournaments, then “new talents”: In August 2013, the first online tournament organized by ArenaNet took place. However, the event received little attention.
Only through community tournaments and collaboration with ESL did movement return to the scene, actually much too late.
In 2014/15, worldwide LAN events with the World Tournament Series took place in China, America, and at gamescom 2015 in Europe. Afterward, ArenaNet tried to establish a league operation with regular online tournaments in Europe and America. The developers saw themselves as the PvP number 1 in the genre.
But all these efforts had a problem: strong teams quickly emerged that dominated everything. The league was boring and poorly organized. This was also because, while there were professional events, there was nothing for newcomers or casual players.
Only after the major tournaments were regular seasons and automated daily tournaments for the “new talents” introduced. By then, the scene was already dead.
Additionally, players repeatedly had to deal with a sometimes boring and then again a meta dominated by a few classes. Balance patches from the developers came sluggishly after the release of the Heart of Thorns expansion.
PvP today is for casuals, but the tournament brings professionals back
What is the state of PvP in 2020? Currently, the PvP in Guild Wars 2 is primarily shaped by seasons. These last 8 weeks, and players can compare themselves on a leaderboard with friends and guild members.
As rewards, there are gold, special armor pieces, and special titles when the top 250 are reached or exceeded.
Anyone can participate in the seasons, and since they always proceed identically, many former professional players have turned their backs on Guild Wars 2.
With the new tournament, well-known names like Ranked 55 Dragons and Cheese Mode return. While some adjustments were made to the team members, it brings back memories of old times.
It is unlikely that the developers of Guild Wars 2 will refocus on large tournaments like in 2014/15/16. But perhaps at least a small regularity will establish itself, bringing a hint of eSports into the MMORPG. Similar attempts have been made with other tournaments, but they did not receive this attention.
At least the love for competitive players, whether PvP or WvW, is one of the things I wish for Guild Wars 2 in 2020.
