We interview ArenaNet developers Scott McGough and Devon Carverabout the next content update.

The latest content patch for Guild Wars 2 comes out today with the Secret of Southsun living story release. ZAM had the opportunity for an exclusive interview with a couple of ArenaNet developers to try and uncover a few of the mysteries of Southsun.

First up was Narrative Designer Scott McGough. Some might recognize Scott from the recent blog post he wrote about Team Spring Break or from the Beyond Flame and Frost video where he (along with Angel McCoy) discussed the lore behind Flame and Frost and Living Story’s future.

Matt Adams: The Flame and Frost content was a multi-act saga over four months. Is the Secret of Southsun going to follow suit in being part of a multi-part arc that falls into a tightly connected story arc with some of the following content patches?

Scott McGough:  The Living World's plan for 2013 is to have story/character connections between each successive content release. Southsun Cove picks up on the story of the Flame and Frost refugees. It will present its story and character arcs in a single month, but it will definitely set up and lead to the content that follows, which will lead to the next content, and so on.

The new Crab Toss mini-game sounds like a new activity similar to Keg Brawl. Will it come with its own set of achievements?

Scott McGough: It will indeed. It will also have titles and prizes for both participants and winners.

Are other activities that had been announced such as Bar Brawl and Target Range in Divinity’s Reach being pushed back to be released with more closely themed Living Story content?

Scott McGough: We haven't identified a Living World release for those two in particular, but we love activities around here, so if we don't release these eventually it'll be because other activities were a better fit.

Is Crab Toss going to be a multiplayer instance, and if so will players be working against each other or as a team?

Scott McGough: Crab Toss will be a multiplayer instance, and PCs will be competing against each other in an “every adventurer for him/herself” situation.

Will Crab Toss be like a hot-potato game, where the player who holds the crab is the target of the karka attacks and must toss the crab to another player before the karkas reach said player?

Scott McGough:  Short answer: yes, but with a twist. There's a bit more to it than straight hot potato (and some serious high-stress strategy for those brave enough to enter the arena), but I'll leave all the details for players to discover.

We then talked with Game Designer Devon Carver about the new traps going into WvW.

Matt Adams: How are the new Traps in WvW going to work? Will it be similar to siege where players have a blueprint they set down and use supply to build it?

Devon Carver:  World vs. World traps function much like siege blueprints currently. When you take the trap out of your inventory it creates a bundle in your hand. Each trap has a supply cost to build it that the player must have before they can deploy it. When the trap is placed it deducts the amount of supply from the player's current supply pool. So, while you will need supply to build them like siege weapons, the trap will either go down ready to fire off or the player won't be able to put it down due to not having enough supply.

Will Traps only be available from the merchant or will they be added to drops and the jumping puzzle chests similar to how siege is currently acquired?

Devon Carver:  Currently traps are only available from the merchant; however we are definitely interested in adding them to more places in the world.

How visible will traps be to enemies? Is it something that players could avoid or possibly destroy before setting off? Are the traps one-time use (in that once they are set off they are done and disappear)?

Devon Carver:  WvW traps are one-time use; once they fire off, they are gone. Traps are not visible to opposing players, so players will have to be a little more careful when running around, lest they set one off!

There are upgraded forms of siege that are created through the Mystic Forge. Are there any plans to have traps be upgradable as well?

Devon Carver:  There aren't any plans for this at the moment, although it is a pretty good idea! We want to focus on getting a variety of traps out and into the game before we do anything like this.

The traps that remove supply: Will they remove all supply that players are carrying or a set amount (such as removes 5 supply from enemy)? If the latter, could we possibly be seeing an increase to this through a WXP ability line in the future?

Devon Carver:  The supply trap removes a set amount of supply, not all the supply the player has. As for an increase through WXP Abilities, it is certainly not out of the question, but we don't have plans at this time for that. The WXP ability lines are going to continue to have exciting changes that provide a lot of cool new gameplay.

The Secrets of Southsun content is set to go live on May 14^th. While the traps are a permanent addition to WvW, the living story content along with the Crab Toss activity will only be available for a limited time.

Matt "Mattsta" Adams