This summer, the Guild Wars 2 team announced that they were working on a new Borderlands map for WvW mode. Now, the developers are looking for volunteers to beta test the map, which will take place in November.
This is the first new map of its kind in over a decade, so the developers want to get players involved in testing and refining the project. They also reiterated that they rely on community input when creating innovations like these.
The action on the map will take place during the Burning event in Ascalon. Eventually, when the map is ready for use in the game, the team plans to use it to replace the existing Green Alpine Borderlands map.
Players will “explore the battlefields of one of Tyria’s most iconic regions. Designed in the style of Ascalon, the map will combine locations that existed before and after the Burn, and will be closely tied to the history of the people and warlike Charr of that era.”
The first phase of beta testing for the new map is scheduled for November 10th. Players will see a rough version of the game – without the final graphics and artwork. During testing, all Borderlands maps will be replaced with this new draft version to ensure maximum testing coverage.
During this first phase of testing, no new game mechanics will be added. The main focus is on aspects such as the overall mood and feel of the map, where encounters occur, and how long it takes to move around. This approach gives teams the flexibility to make necessary changes early, before in-depth detail work makes adjustments too complex.
The new map will be tested in stages, with subsequent betas adding new features, mechanics and changes based on player feedback.
This approach has helped the team successfully test and complete work on PvP Push mode. In addition, the developers also took into account the experience of making the Desert Frontier map: the map was only shown to players in the final stages of its preparation, when it already contained many complex mechanics. This time around, ArenaNet wants to get the map to players as early as possible and collect as much feedback as possible to allow enough time to make the necessary changes.
