SOLVED: Hidden "weapon" in the game? Wayfarer's Reverie Rumor

This discussion started on Discord today, and I recently made a post to Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/GuildWars/co…_reverie_rumor/

This has now been solved! New unique weapon discovered: https://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Silver_Edge
A new boss + mob spawn too on the cliff outside Sifhala.

On 12 April user Horrible in the GW Global Discord noticed a Wiki edit by former ArenaNet Designer Matthew Moore.

This edit was on the Talk Page of the Wayferer's Reverie responding to an anonymous comment made 25 August 2020.

Quote from Anonymous (August 2020)

I heard from somebody who heard from an ex-dev that the Xunlai Archivists are a riddle or something. Some of the references overlap, like there are two maps with Kilroy and vaettir. Not sure about the cupcake.

Quote from Matthew Moore (April 2021)

Well, I was going to create a new note, seeing as I admitted as much on Twitter

today, but I'll just confirm this person was onto something. My apologies to the other devs for spoiling the secret (if we were still keeping it a secret), to the community for my part in hiding it without leaving more hints and confirmations, and especially to our QA for making 'em test something nobody would find for years. If you all get stuck looking for it and you need more hints, ask Joe Kimmes. Ha!

Matthew Moore is linking a Twitter post he made on 11 April 2021, replying to "respond with the best Easter eggs you ever hid in a game!"

Quote from Matthew Moore's Twitter

There's a weapon hidden in the original Guild Wars that I don't think anyone's found yet. We hid some clues in the dialogues of some wiki editor tribute NPCs who only show up during the Wayfarer's Reverie, but...I think we hid it too well. Too poorly? Could have done it betta.

The NPCs are the eight Xunlai Archivists.

According to the anonymous poster, it could involve Kilroy, vaettir and cupcakes.

Joe Kimmes/old Live Team are the ones to can provide more hints and information.

TLDR:

• A "weapon", hidden in GW that no one has found yet.(?)
• Clues are in the dialogues of some of the wiki editor tribute NPCs who only show up during the Wayferer's Reverie.(?)

Some of us have been discussing this on Discord.

The main summary of information is in this Google Doc and updated on the Reddit thread.

Legacy, what do you think: Is it all made up? Can we narrow down what this hidden weapon may be? Anyone (work out how to) find it?

Subsequent tweets and post reserving:

Quote from Matthew Moore Twitter

This is a fun thread for devs and gamers alike.

I added a note about the [still unfound?] weapon we hid in Guild Wars because I still feel a little guilty for having QA test it and, knowing what I do about puzzle design now, I think we could have made the hunt better.

Grinning face with smiling eyes

Quote from Matthew Moore's Twitter

This is a very good question! I...don't recall. I checked with one of my ex-QA buddies and...he doesn't recall. I think we're gonna need to call on somebody who both worked on it and is still at ANet, like Robert Gee or Joe Kimmes. Maybe hit up their talk page on the wiki.

Quote from Matthew Moore's Twitter

I can tell you that some of the clues were hella obscure and even potentially misleading, like when Xunlai Archivist Jonemon talks about "...if the Gods didn't shine their grace upon us..." the clues isn't about needing the GRACE of the Gods but...something else.

Quote from Matthew Moore on Reddit

We added the item and the trigger mechanism at the same time as we added the NPCs in 2013. No need to dig back too far. Heck, I don't know how many people outside the Live Team at that point knew about it. [Can't give everything away (in part because I don't remember it all), but I don't want to see y'all beating your heads against 16 years of content.]

Quote from Matthew Moore on Reddit

Oh my Dwayna, no, this is not a Mini Polar Bear situation. Meeting the conditions should produce a 100% success rate of triggering...the thing. 😅 (...with only this caveat.)

Quote from Matthew Moore on Reddit

I don't think I'm giving too much away to say the only dialogues that pertain to the Easter egg are those of the Xunlai Archivists.

Quote from Ostona

After reading everything including the Discord, I have only 1 concern: is not strange that no one discovered this when the gw.dat was dumped entirely finding all the discarded content like the old gods (Arachnia), etc?

I say this because, perhaps, the hidden weapon is not necessarily a "new" weapon, only a normal quest reward weapon like any other, but hidden. If the weapon has a different or exclusive name like a green from a boss, then when the gw.dat was dumped someone should have seen it.

Since we have no idea what kind of "weapon" it is there's no way to know what to look for. It could also be reused texture/icon from something else in the game.

Yep it was solved this morning! \o/

Quote from Neutral_CH

But, last question, it's possible kill and kill and kill etc and drop big stock for guild or not (?)

So far everything indicates that it drops once per account.