Last week we took some community questions and got some ArenaNet answers.

The Siege Begins later today as Scarlet’s forces invade Lion’s Arch and change Guild Wars 2 forever. Some of our readers wanted to know more of what GW2’s soon to be released patch, Escape from Lion’s Arch, has in store for them, so we gathered up your questions and asked ArenaNet’s own Mike Zadorojny for answers.

When players load into the game after the patch, they will find that the invasion of Lion’s Arch has already started. Lion’s Arch wasn’t ready for the assault and the initial onslaught has taken place before players are able to join the fight. Players who had logged off in LA before the patch will discover that they had already been evacuated to one of the adjoining maps.

To aid the players in gaining access to the city and evacuating more citizens, the three orders of Tyria (the Vigil, Durmand Priory and Order of Whispers) have set up staging grounds outside the three entrances to the city. Players will be working together as a whole to save any citizens still trapped in the city.

Mike said that saving citizens is like a macro mini-game. Players will be finding civilians and soldiers through events and in the open world before clearing a path for them to escape. All of these mini-gameplay moments are then part of the greater picture. What is that greater picture? Saving citizens will count towards a counter. The higher the count, the better the rewards.

This patch won’t be all fun and games, however, as all of Scarlet’s alliances will be out in force. One reader asked why the alliances are still following Scarlet’s orders and attacking LA after the players had beat each alliance in its respective patch. Mike said that it is true that players knocked each of the alliances down a peg when they stormed in and destroyed their separate bases, but most of the alliances are in it for the end game. Scarlet had made promises to each alliance, and many members of each alliance still want those promises fulfilled. Of course, some members just want some revenge on the players that destroyed their nice, shiny bases.

As for Scarlet herself? Mike didn’t want to spoil too much, but did say that the main focus of this patch is saving the citizens of LA. He did comment that this is the second to last patch for the first season of the Living World, so while you may not see her, her presence will definitely be felt. All of the B-iconics (Marjory, Kasmeer, Rox, Braham and Taimi) will be there, however, and Mike teased that there are still some surprises regarding the B-iconics for players to see before the end of the season.

Many questions were asked about what would happen to unique LA services. Mike confirmed that anything unique to LA will find a new temporary home at the Vigil Keep in Gendarran Fields north of LA. This includes dungeon merchants, the candy merchant (Zhaitaffy and Candy Corn guy), Fractals of the Mists and the five racial city Asura gates. Even the Mystic Forge has been relocated to the Vigil Keep, though Zomorros is not too happy about his forced departure from the home he has had for over a year now. The moa racing track, however, has been taken over by the Toxic Alliance, so the races have been discontinued during the siege. Players will have to wait and see if this pasttime comes back in the long run.

With the Toxic Alliance having taken control of the moa race track, what is happening on the other side of the city, namely near the Tengu gate? The Tengu are still holding strong to their belief of non-interference even during this massive attack near their home city. They are, however, very keen to protect their wall and land, so players venturing to the southwestern area of the city should proceed with caution!

With this patch, Lion’s Arch will never be the same. Mike said that the scars left by Scarlet will always remain and that ArenaNet is going to make sure that the impact will always be felt even after all this is done. First, however, we will need to win back the city and dislodge Scarlet and her armies before we can even think about rebuilding. For now, players will have to decide where they will congregate, something that ArenaNet will be keeping an eye on to see what players decide to do.

Lastly, with the end of the Living World’s first season coming soon, a reader wanted to know if anything would have been changed if the season were rewritten today. Mike said that some little things probably would have changed as the studio is always reiterating with every release. The large overall plot, however, would have remained the same. This plot we are seeing now has been designed for a long time. Even Scarlett (who we didn’t see until August) was designed more than year ago, before the Flame and Frost patches were released. Players will just have to wait and see where ArenaNet takes Guild Wars 2 from here.

A big thanks goes out to everyone who submitted questions. As thanks, five questioners will be receiving a gem code worth 400 gems courtesy of ArenaNet. Want to win a code? ZAM will be hosting another community Q&A next week for the last patch of season one. In addition to the gem codes, ArenaNet has given us two codes for the Digital Deluxe edition of the game as grand prizes for anyone who asked a question during any of these community Q&As! Until then, check out the latest rounds of the Collaborative Development Initiative on the official Guild Wars 2 forums.

Matt "Mattsta" Adams

Follow me @MattstaNinja