You are now hunting 9 rats in Guild Wars 2, behind it lies a tragedy

A well-known blogger from the Guild Wars scene is now honored with his own quest in Guild Wars 2: You hunt 9 rats in his name.

Zach “Ravious” Best passed away at the end of last year, in October 2017, from cancer. His premature death at the age of 36 was a shock to his family, friends, readers, and the developers at ArenaNet.

Since his death, the developers have been working on a way to memorialize him in Guild Wars 2. The result of their efforts can now be admired in the game.

Kill Ten Rats

Ravious made a name for himself in the scene through his involvement with the blog “Kill Ten Rats,” for which he wrote blog posts on the topic of MMOs.

The name of the blog “Kill Ten Rats” is meant to be ironic: In many MMORPGs, players start by having to kill some creatures. And often in large numbers. “Kill 10 rats” is considered the most basic quest that MMORPGs have to offer.

He got into the blog through a friend. Zubon and Ravious knew each other from the game “A Tale in the Desert.” This friend, Zubon, convinced Ravious to write for the blog “Kill Ten Rats.” But that wasn’t all.  Ravious also ran his own blog “Game Scribe” until 2009. There, he wrote stories from the perspective of an in-game character and the adventures he experienced.

In May 2016, he publicly spoke about his cancer and Find 9 Rats

Surely meant as a tribute to the blog “Kill 10 Rats,” you must find the 9 house rats for the NPC Ravious. They are scattered throughout Lion’s Arch. As a reward for finding all the rats, eager players receive a secret achievement.

If you also want to go rat hunting, there’s a useful guide on the site Dulfy for the quest: There you will find the location of all 9 rats illustrated by Ravious along with a brief description.

Eternalized in Guild Wars 2

Throughout his life, Ravious played many MMOs, but no game captivated him as much as Guild Wars. He spent by far the most time in this game.

The developers at ArenaNet have now made him a part of the game series he loved to play. To bring him into the game as accurately as possible, the developers based his character on a photo of him.

Players are also memorialized in other games after they pass away. In Rift, in honor of a 17-year-old who died in a accident, a garden was built by players.