User:Veron/Day-Night Cycle Research/Draft
Day and night refer to two environment states which affect certain gameplay mechanics, the appearances of certain weapons, and Sylvari glow. All zones at a given instant are in one of the two states. In most zones, these two states alternate according to the day–night cycle (see below section). Any zone that does not follow the cycle is either permanently in the day state or the night state. The appearance changes of the day–night mechanic is intended as an element of realism in the game. For example, the day–night cycle mimics the passage of real time, and the night state of many underground dungeon zones reflects the darker feeling of those locations.
Day–night cycle[edit]
The day–night cycle has a two-hour period and four stages. These stages affect the appearance of the sky and are conceptually distinct from but each correspond to the functional day and night states.
- Two primary stages—day and night—which correspond with their respective functional states
- Two brief transitional stages—dawn and dusk—between them which are both functionally day
During the day and night stages, the sky appears fairly static—in day, the sky is bright, and the sun is visible; in night, the sky is dark, and stars and the moon are visible. During dusk and dawn, the sky rapidly changes to smoothly transition between the day and night appearances (and vice versa).[1]
The following table summarizes the relationships between the functional states and the cycle stages and also gives the length of each stage.[2]
Functional state | Cycle stage | Length |
---|---|---|
Day | Dawn | 5 minutes |
Day | 70 minutes | |
Dusk | 5 minutes | |
Night | Night | 40 minutes |
Schedule[edit]
Day–night cycle – Time that each stage begins – UTC (Local)[2] | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Functional Day | Dawn | 00:25 | 02:25 | 04:25 | 06:25 | 08:25 | 10:25 | 12:25 | 14:25 | 16:25 | 18:25 | 20:25 | 22:25 |
Day | 00:30 | 02:30 | 04:30 | 06:30 | 08:30 | 10:30 | 12:30 | 14:30 | 16:30 | 18:30 | 20:30 | 22:30 | |
Dusk | 01:40 | 03:40 | 05:40 | 07:40 | 09:40 | 11:40 | 13:40 | 15:40 | 17:40 | 19:40 | 21:40 | 23:40 | |
Functional Night | Night | 23:45 | 01:45 | 03:45 | 05:45 | 07:45 | 09:45 | 11:45 | 13:45 | 15:45 | 17:45 | 19:45 | 21:45 |
List of zones obeying day-night cycle[edit]
- All explorable zones in Tyria
- Primary World versus World zones – Eternal Battlegrounds, Borderlands, Obsidian Sanctum
- Chantry of Secrets
- Claw Island
List of zones not on cycle[edit]
- All dungeons:[3]
- Ascalonian Catacombs – night
- Caudecus's Manor – day
- Twilight Arbor – night
- Sorrow's Embrace – night
- Citadel of Flame – night
- Honor of the Waves – day
- Crucible of Eternity
- Story mode – day
- Explorable mode – night
- The Ruined City of Arah – day
- All Fractals of the Mists
- Mistlock Observatory – day
- Aquatic Ruins Fractal – day
- Swampland Fractal – night
- Uncategorized Fractal – day
- Urban Battlegrounds Fractal – day
- Molten Furnace Fractal – day
- Snowblind Fractal – night
- Cliffside Fractal – day
- Underground Facility Fractal – night
- Aetherblade Fractal – day
- Thaumanova Reactor Fractal – day
- Volcanic Fractal – night
- Captain Mai Trin Boss Fractal – day
- Molten Boss Fractal – day
- Solid Ocean Fractal – night
- Durmand Priory Basement – day
- Special Collections – day
- Edge of the Mists – day
- Heart of the Mists – night
Game elements affected by day-night state[edit]
Dynamic events, NPCs, and enemies[edit]
Certain locations will have different dynamic events, non-player characters, and enemies available depending on day or night. For example, Shaemoor Cemetery will have a Priest of Grenth investigating a restless spirit in the day, who turns out to be Lady in White in Defeat the Lady in White (3) at night. Bats are also found in the cemetery only at night.
Sigil of the Night[edit]
- Primary article: Sigil of the Night
Sigils of the Night are weapon sigils that increase outgoing damage during the night state.
Sigil of the Night | Rarity | Level | Bonus |
---|---|---|---|
Minor Sigil of the Night | Masterwork | 20 | Outgoing damage is increased by 1% with an additional 3% at night. |
Major Sigil of the Night | Rare | 40 | Outgoing damage is increased by 2% with an additional 5% at night. |
Superior Sigil of the Night | Exotic | 60 | Outgoing damage is increased by 3% with an additional 7% at night. |
Food[edit]
- Primary article: Food
The following foods confer different bonuses depending on whether it is the day or night state.
Level | Duration | Item | Effect |
---|---|---|---|
10 | 30m | Chili Pepper Popper | Day: 8% Chance to gain might on crit |
20 | 30m | Stuffed Pepper | Day: 16% Chance to gain might on crit |
30 | 30m | Stuffed Zucchini | Day: 24% Chance to gain might on crit Night: 24% Chance to cause chill on crit |
50 | 30m | Bowl of Hummus | Day: 28% Chance to gain might on crit Night: 28% Chance to cause chill on crit |
65 | 30m | Roasted Artichoke | Day: 36% Chance to gain might on crit Night: 36% Chance to cause chill on crit |
80 | 30m | Ghost Pepper Popper | Day: 40% Chance to gain might on crit Night: 40% Chance to cause chill on crit |
Weapon appearances[edit]
The following weapons have different appearances between day and night states.
Sylvari glow[edit]
- Primary article: Physical appearance/Sylvari
All Sylvari characters will glow when in the night state. For playable characters, the color and intensity of the glow is set during character creation.
Notes[edit]
- Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns will feature a new Outpost meta event system which involves building up defenses during the initial "day" phase to prepare to survive enemy attacks in the following "night" phase.[4] It is currently unknown whether the Outpost system will use the existing day-night cycle, will use a separate cycle, or will result in the existing cycle being modified.
References[edit]
- ^ The length of a Day/Night Cycle in Guild Wars 2 - A quick analysis | YouTube
- ^ a b c d Player testing
- ^ Guide to Sigils and Potions in Dungeons, Guild Wars 2 Forums
- ^ Journey into the Heart of Maguuma in Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns, Anthony Ordon, Sean Hughes, and Matt Wuerffel | guildwars2.com blog post