NCsoft and ArenaNet are pleased to announce the Guild Wars World Championship. All Guild Wars players are invited to participate! To do so, simply form a guild and join in Rated Guild-versus-Guild matches on the Guild Wars Ladder. The qualifying season begins at Midnight Pacific Daylight Time (7:00 AM GMT) on Saturday, October 1st, as ArenaNet resets the Guild Wars ladder. The ladder season will last three months, and will lead to playoffs among top-ranked guilds in three regions: America, Europe, and Korea. Two eight-player teams from each region will then battle for Guild Wars world supremacy in Taipei, Taiwan, during the week of the Taipei Game Show, which is scheduled to take place February 16 — 20, 2006. Information about prizes will be announced in the very near future.   Guild Wars Championship Calendar October 1, 2005 Guild Wars Ladder Reset January 1, 2006 Qualifying Season Ends January, 2006 Regional Guild Wars Playoffs Held February, 2006 Guild Wars World Championship Finals held during the Taipei Game Show in Taipei, Taiwan About the Event Guild Wars will be released in Taiwan and in Japan just prior to the championship event, and in celebration of the releases, we've selected Taipei as the location for the first Guild Wars World Championship. The event will include the crowning of the Guild Wars World Champion, and in addition will also feature exhibition matches with teams from Taiwan and Japan. It will be a truly international event that will reflect the global nature of Guild Wars and of the Guild Wars community! For information about game updates made in conjunction with the Guild Wars World Championship announcement, please see this page. About Taipei Taipei 101 World's Tallest Building Taiwan is a solitary island off the coast of Mainland China, on the western edge of the Pacific "Rim of Fire." Taiwan's landscape features majestic peaks, rolling hills and plains, basins, rugged coastlines, and other wonders. A land of great natural beauty, the small island is home to 6 national parks and 12 national scenic areas and has climates ranging from temperate to tropical. There are nearly 20,000 species of wildlife on the island, and more than 20% are Rare or Endangered Species. The cultural aspects in Taiwan are a delighted blending of Hakka, Taiwanese, and mainland Chinese cultures. These lend a fascinating cultural and social color to everything from architecture to language to food. We look forward to the Guild Wars World Championship, and who knows? We may be hosting your guild in Taipei in 2006!   Row of Buddha Statues   Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Eligibility Note At the present time, all guilds on the Guild Wars Ladder are eligible for participation in the Guild Wars World Championship, excepting those guilds whose membership includes employees of NCsoft or ArenaNet or their family members. Such guilds are ineligible. A list of ineligible guilds can be found here. More Fine Print (sort of like legal Castor Oil) This is a tournament of skill; this is not a game of chance. Therefore, there are no odds of winning. All Guild Wars account holders from October 1 through December 31 2005, who are members or guests of a qualified guild and who play rated ladder games, will be automatically entered into the Guild Wars Ladder Season, the top eligible guilds of which will qualify for the tournament. To be eligible to compete and receive prizes, players must be 18 or older; able to travel without restriction to Taipei, Taiwan under valid passport; return declaration of eligibility and liability/publicity release and waiver within 10 days upon request; comply at all times with full contest rules; not be an employee or contractor of NCsoft, ArenaNet, a subsidiary or affiliate or their advertising or promotion agencies or be domiciled with them; submit to verification of eligibility upon request; not be disqualified from tournament. Guilds participating in regional playoffs on-line and world championship in Taipei will be those ranked at top of ladder at end of ladder season, which begins 0700 GMT October 1, 2005, and ends 0800 GMT January 1, 2006, which must be comprised of eligible members, a majority of whom are legal residents of region. Transportation and accommodations provided for up to 8 members of regional online winner to Taipei, Taiwan from nearest major metro airport approved by ArenaNet. ArenaNet may disqualify guilds or any of their members or may change the rules, format or delivery of tournament or ladder, or may cancel, terminate, modify or suspend all or a portion thereof to prevent violation of terms of service, failure to comply with rules, ladder abuse, computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failure, or to maintain security, fairness, integrity or proper conduct. ArenaNet and NCsoft assume no liability for error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission, communications failure, theft or destruction, unauthorized access, or malfunction of servers, providers, computer equipment or software, or traffic congestion on the Internet or at any Web site, or any combination thereof, including any injury or damage to participant's or any other person's software or computer. Any attempt to deliberately damage or undermine the legitimate operation of tournament is a violation of criminal and civil laws and ArenaNet and NCsoft reserve right to seek damages to the fullest extent permitted by law. Travel to Taipei involves risks inherent in foreign travel, including the possibility of sickness, injury or death to person and damage or loss of property, for which ArenaNet and NCsoft assume no liability. All taxes on travel, hotel, or any winnings are sole responsibility of contestant. These abbreviated rules may be supplemented or superceded by full tournament rules at any time. Contest void where restricted, taxed or prohibited by law.