What went on in the Guild Wars Dragon Festival?

In case you missed out on the Dragon Festival, here are some screen shots for you.

First of all you can see the new decorations around Shing Jea - bizarre giant dragon limbs:

Dragon limbs

Lots of dragon heads have been hung up around the monastery:

Decorative dragon heads

As well as some imposing ones at the entrance to the Monastery:

Monastery entrance

Where all the festival guides and reward-givers are, there is a huge stone column, carved with dragon motifs, with waterfalls and a miniature tree growing on top:

Dragon column

In the main courtyard are some NPCs giving out quests. These give XP and money as always, but also give you some Victory Tokens as well (more on what to do with those later).

You can also talk to an NPC in the courtyard who will take you to the Rollerbeetle Racing - more on that can be found in a previous article here.

Near the dragon column is the master of festivities - talk to him and he'll transport you outside the monastery to the Shing Jea Boardwalk, which is where all the action is.

There are three main games here: the two ring games, which are games of chance, and the Dragon Arena, which is a game of skill.

The ring games are the easiest way to boost your Lucky and Unlucky Title Tracks. First of all you need to buy some tickets from this nice lady:

Buying tickets

Then you go and stand in a ring. The 9 Rings provide the greatest winnings and are the quickest way to boost your Lucky Title track, as you are more likely to win.

9 rings game

The larger ring game provides much less reward - although you lose less tickets when you lose, you're more likely to lose - so great for boosting your Unlucky Title Track.

16 ring game

Both games play the same way - you choose a ring, stand on it, and a countdown begins. If that ring is the winning one, you get some more tickets. If that ring as adjacent to a winning ring, you get less tickets. If that ring is losing ring, you get knocked down, and lose your ticket entry fee.

The Dragon Arena is where you chase around catching hatchlings. Different types of hatchling will have a positive or negative effect, and whoever has the most at the end of the round wins the game.

The Dragon Arena

Like Rollerbeetle Racing, wins or top positions in the Dragon Arena will give you points towards your Gamer Title Track.

With all the tickets you collected (or bought) you meet up with a Victory Token NPC - he will exchange tickets for Victory Tokens. Then head back inside the monastery to claim you rewards.

You can swap Victory Tokens for sweets and alcholic drinks, for working on your Sweet Tooth and Drunken Title Tracks, as well as collecting trinkets like fireworks and other toys.

The Festivals at Shing Jea Monastery in Cantha seem to be becoming a regular fixture, which is great because these are really good fun. It's also the only real opportunity you have to work on some of the Title Tracks.

Even if you're not seeking a Title it's a great social occasion and lots of fun. It's also interesting to see how the base combat systems in Guild Wars can be modified for such a wide variety of different games.

See you at the next one!
TOM

Bookmark/Search this post with:

delicious | digg | reddit | furl | google | yahoo