Guild Wars 2

When will Custom Arenas be out of Beta.
We have not set a date for the end of Beta. We want to get feedback from players on usability and shake out any bugs before opening it up to the general public.

We are conducting a small closed Beta. Who can participate?

• Top players from our QP leaderboards will receive a Custom Arena and early access as part of their prize package.
• Some press and media sites.
• If you purchased a Custom Arena while they were accidentally available on the gem store then you will be able to activate them at this time.
• Additionally we are considering a small number of active community members.

Can I play on a Custom Arena even if I don’t own one?
Yes, you can play on a Custom Arena that is owned by another player provided that player has made their Arena open or have given you the password or they have extended you or your guild membership the Arena. If you really like playing on that Custom Arena consider supporting it by adding time to it with a time token.

Do I have to pay to play on a Custom Arena?
No, anyone can join a server that has no password or as long as you know the password. Only the Custom Arena owner has to pay a gem cost. Other players can also add time to a server to help contribute to the cost.

If I already have a Custom Arena Starter Kit, from when they were briefly available in the gem store, can I use it during the Custom Arena Beta period?
Yes, though keep in mind that we might not put additional time tokens up for sale until Custom Arenas exit Beta.

What can I configure on a Custom Arena?

• Name
• Password
• Message of the Day
• Team Size
• Score Limit
• Time Limit
• Respawn Time
• Respawn Type: Wave vs individual
• Minimum players
• Reserved Slots
• Spectators
• Ready Button
• Auto Balance
• Lock Gear
• Lock Skills
• No Progression
• Map selection
• Member players
• Member Guilds
• Banned Players

Can I make my Custom Arena private?
You may password protect your Custom Arena to only allow those that know the password to enter. You may also set the reserved slots to the maximum which will only allow members to join the Custom Arenas

How much will Custom Arenas cost?
We have not revealed Custom Arena pricing at this time but there will be an initial set up fee that comes with a month of time. Additional time will be available via time tokens in the gem store.

How do I add time to a Custom Arena?
Time Tokens will be available from the gem store. Each time token adds one day of time to a Custom Arena. You can use time tokens to add time to your Custom Arena from the Custom Arena configuration interface. You can also use time tokens to add time to any Custom Arena that you are currently playing on.

I can add time to any Custom Arena?! Really?!
Yes, a Custom Arena is a kernel of community. What better way to show your appreciation for the community that you enjoy playing with the most than to support it by extending the time on it.

Can I own more than one Custom Arena?
Yes but keep in mind that time needs to be added to each Custom Arena individually.

When I run out of time is my Custom Arena deleted?
There is a grace period before the Custom Arena is deleted. During this time your Custom Arena will still exist but no one will be allowed to play on it. If time is not added before this period expires the Custom Arena will be deleted.

Why should I own a Custom Arena?

• To have a private place for you and your friends to play.
• To develop a community of players who like to play together.
• To practice with your team.
• To scrimmage against other teams.
• To teach and learn from other players.

PvP Leaderboards F.A.Q.

Q: Do leaderboard names follow the same naming rules as the normal game?
A: Yes they do. If a name on the leaderboards is deemed to be inappropriate, your account will be removed from the leaderboards until that character has been renamed. Once renamed, you must then play at least 1 game to re-appear on the leaderboards.

Q: How is rank determined? Is it by wins? Win %?
A: Rating is used. This rating takes into account your rating, your opponent’s rating, and then adjusts your post-game rating accordingly. If you win against a very low ranked opponent, and you are a highly ranked opponent, you will gain fewer points than if you defeated someone above you in rating. It is possible for a player to have a higher rating even if they haven’t played as many games as another player – # of games does not guarantee a high rating.

Q: The boards have my ranger listed, but I played my warrior more, why isn’t it ranking me by my warrior?
A: The rankings are account based, not character based. We use your most recently logged character as your current leader board name.

Q: How often do the sPvP leaderboards update?
A: Currently, once an hour.

Q: Are the leaderboards character based or account based?
A: They are account based. The most recent character played is shown on the leaderboard, even though the ranking is account based.

Q: Are player ratings shown anywhere?
A: We do not currently display player ratings.

Q: Do matches in the PvP Browser affect my Rating?
A: Your rating is not based on public play matches, only tournament/ranked matches.

Q: Does leaving a match early affect my rating?
A: If you leave a tourney/ranked match early, yes, your rating is impacted as if you sustained a loss. Once you finish another match, this “loss” is then factored back into your rating.

Q: My rank is jumping around a lot, what is going on?
A: A few things can be happening. The leaderboard will only show your new rank once it updates, which currently happens on the hour. The system is also trying to figure out how good you are and put you where you need to be for good matchups. The more you play, the more “confident” the system becomes about your placement. Early on, you may jump around more until the system has more info on your performance.

Dropping out of games early can also cause your rank to fluctuate a lot. When you drop a game early, you are assigned a loss. If you do this multiple times, then you are giving yourself loss after loss. Once you successfully finish a game, the system assigns all your old losses back to your rank. Once the leaderboard updates again, all these losses “catch up” to you, and you may see a big drop in your rank.

Also keep in mind that other players are also playing and gaining or losing rating. It may be that although you have moved up a few ranks several other player have moved past you in ratings. The net result may be a drop or increase in ranking.

Here is a list of the current active Custom Arena commands. Note that some commands remove the progression of your server upon usage. This means that using a no progression command will hence forth cease your ability to gain glory and rank points for that match.

Tournament Commands: These commands were established to aid in running custom tournaments. Using any of these commands will turn off progression for the remainder of the match in which you used it. [Example: using /gamestart will not allow any players in the match to accumulate glory or rank points.]

• /gamestart – Forces the current game to start. Disables rewards and stats.
• /gameend – Ends the current game. Disables rewards and stats.
• /setscore – Sets each team’s score, and is clamped to victory score. (total points needed for victory) Example: /setscore 150 499 where the first number is red team score and second is blue. Score can be set before the match starts in the ‘waiting for players’ phase.

Administrative Commands: these commands require you to have the designated player targeted. You do not need to type that players name. Simply acquire your target and type one of these slash commands.

• /memberadd – Adds the player to the list of members for the server.
• /memberremove – Removes the player from the members list.
• /guildadd – Adds the guild of target player to guild list
• /guildremove – Removes the guild of targeted player from guild list
• /ban – Sends the targeted player back to the lobby. Adds their name to the list of banned players.
• /unban – Removes the targeted player from the ban list
• /kick – Sends the targeted player back to the lobby.
• /teamswitch – Switches the player from their current team to the other team

Hope this list helps!
Enjoy!