Undoubtedly you've heard of Funcom's Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures (PC, with an Xbox 360 version to follow) yes? Well, if you're thinking of venturing into the Hyborian wastes then you might as well prepare yourself for the long journey ahead of you. No, we won't cast a spell of knowledge for it may upset the Cimmerians in our readership. Instead we deliver an article which discusses everything you need to know to get started. Click on the link below to see for yourself.

NCsoft's latest Guild Wars State of the Game discusses the different builds and strategies of last October's Monthly Automated Tournament winner Delta Formation (DF).

The guild dominated both Swiss and Single Elimination rounds where it finished undefeated. What was surprising about the team is the fact this team relies on a balanced build and doesn't use a dedicated split builds that other guilds tend to use.

Want to know more? Head on over to the full article for more details.

And the winner is...War Machine!!

War Machine has been announced as the winner of the Guild Wars Factions World Championship beating out five other competitors. All-in-all, it was a rippingly good row, with many surprises. With new builds and strategies, we can expect to see some interesting contests next season.

Teams usually had a two-Monk backline, using a combination of Divine Boon Protection Monks and Blessed Light Monks. This combination provided mobility, defense and healing power. For the most part, the guilds in the competition used balanced builds, although Idiot Savants tried a novel attack using a Triple Smiting Monk build, while the Esoteric Warriors attempted to trip up the Treacherous Empire with a Feast of Corruption spike build in the third round. Most of the Guilds added Debilitating Shot to their Rangers' arsenals, which are capable of catching casters with their pants down.

Idiot Savants made a nice show using Traps. These caused area damage as well as blinding and crippling Warriors. War Machine gave as good as it got, adding a Barbed Trap to their Ranger's Skill Bar.

Audaces fortuna iuvat ("fortune favors the bold"), as the Romans used to say. Nowhere was this more apparent than in the success enjoyed by those daring Guilds willing to innovate. Inspired Enchantment  served to manage Energy and remove Enchantments - as well as turn a foe's weapons against him. When it came to high-pressure builds with Disease, most guilds used "Tainted Flesh" to remain immune. A Mesmer from War Machine inspired Tainted Flesh from one of the opposing guilds and was able to use it in defense for 55 times.

Other surprises included the use of the Meteor Shower, Recall, and the "Life-Bonding Ganking Duo" - an innovation in which War Machine deployed an Assassin and Illusion Mesmer to sneak into an opposing camp. Each character maintained Life Bond on the other, allowing them to get past sentinels  without dying. It didn't come off perfectly, but provided some resiliency and NPC-killing power.

Despite the many innovative and unexpected surprises that turned up in this tournament, the key to victory is to know one's enemy - and the ability to adapt quickly and anticipate a foe's next move. Be willing to change when necessary, think, decide and do - and your Guild too could walk off with a Tournament victory.

While the "Balanced Build" may be the best GvG templates in the Guild Wars universe, they require a great deal of skill, patience and cooperation between team members. But what exactly is a "Balanced Build"?

In GW, this consists of a balanced combination of classes (damage, utility and healing), put together in such a way as to remain flexible against a wide range of other type builds. For example, most balanced builds use Pressure and Spike in combination. While pressure is preferable, spikes will keep enemies guessing. Generally, these builds use two Warriors for offense. Others may use three Warriors, or add an Assassin to the lineup. The mid-line is made up of Mesmers, Rangers and Necromancers, each with their own specific function: Rangers harrass and block, while Mesmers can use a "shutdown" technique. Necromancers are generally "hexspammers," and are also able to inflict Disease. Finally, a variety of Monks are used for Defense. Having Healing Skills can be useful, and Elementalists can serve to remove hexes, but if one has more than two Monks, it may hinder the ability to Pressure.

Splitting is unusually taken into consideration when designing a Balanced Build. By splitting a build in half, one avoids having to face opponents in 7v7 and 8v8 settings. This is especially important when facing Spike teams, because potential damage can be minimized.

Some of the various builds one may face include Spikes, Hexes, Degenerative, and Pressure, each of which calls for different strategies - and the nature of the map upon which a battle is being fought can force a team to make further tactical changes.

Master Guild Wars strategist Jonathan Sharp has come up with detailed strategies and suggestions for each of these scenarios, ans well as "Mirror Matches,' in which one Balanced Build faces another. These strategies are discussed in greater detail on the Official GW Website.