Outside References in "Guild Wars 2" Quiz

Answer: Frostgorge Sound

Admittedly one of the less recognisable outside references in the game, the area known as the Slough of Despond comes from John Bunyan's seminal 1678 work "The Pilgrim's Progress". In Bunyan's work, the Slough of Despond is a bog into which the central character sinks because of his sins metaphorically weighing down upon him.

In "Guild Wars 2", the Slough of Despond is not a named area, per se. The wider area it forms part of in Frostgorge Sound is Frostwalk Tundra. The most obvious mentions of the Slough of Despond is in the name of the area's waypoint, as well as a couple of events that involve fighting dredge. There is also a grawl-inhabited area in Frostgorge Sound called Despond Precipice located just to the south of Frostwalk Tundra.

Answer: Dredgehaunt Cliffs

Located right in the middle of the zone, Dostoev Sky Peak is home to a dredge mining operation and can be quite tricky to navigate, what with dredge popping up all over the place and guarding the elevated platforms. Completing Arcanist Dotta's renown heart task will unlock her as a merchant, at which point she will sell various Dostoev items, including helms, hammers, and torches.

Not only is the area a reference to the Russian author Dostoevsky but the dredge race itself is very derivative of Soviet Russia.

Answer: Skrittsburgh

Skrittsburgh is built inside Mount Gnashington in Brisban Wildlands and frequently comes under attack from Inquest, bandits, Nightmare Court sylvari, and destroyers. As such, it's up to players to pitch in and help protect the skritt king when he is threatened. After all, these skritt are friendly, and who wouldn't want to help these poor, helpless creatures?

Also located in Brisban Wildlands is Skrittsatawney, a much smaller skritt settlement that references the American town Punxsutawney, located not far from Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania.

Answer: Timberline Falls

"There is no Dana, only Zuul!" So goes the famous quote said by Zuul, the Gatekeeper of Gozer, in the 1984 film "Ghostbusters". The quote is rather true in terms of "Guild Wars 2": there is no Dana, only Zuhl (Sector Zuhl, that is). This particular area is located in the northeastern part of Timberline Falls and contains another reference at its end.

The treasure chest that marks the end of the jumping puzzle looks and opens like a chest in the "Borderlands" video games. Of course, you need to get rid of the destroyer troll that guards it before you can open it up and claim your reward.

Answer: Terminator 2: Judgment Day

In "Terminator 2: Judgment Day", the Arnie's Terminator gives a thumbs up as it destroys itself by sinking into molten steel. The same gesture happens when the final blow is dealt to the Iron Forgeman. Originally a fixture of Sorrow's Furnace in "Guild Wars", the Iron Forgeman was powered by enslaved djinn and was destroyed by freeing the bound djinn.

In the Sorrow's Embrace dungeon in "Guild Wars 2", the diminutive Inquest genius Kudu has rebuilt the Iron Forgeman, harnessing magical dragon energy to reanimate this construct.

This time, the Forgeman can be damaged much more directly, by periodically hitting it with boulders.

Answer: Red Ring of Death

Sometimes, an Xbox 360 can experience an internal issue that stops it functioning properly. When it does that, it may cause the infamous Red Ring of Death to appear on the console (some or all of the four lights around the power button turn red). It wouldn't have been that bad if it weren't for the alarming regularity with which the Red Ring issue occurred amongst the Xbox 360 userbase. Such is its infamy that we have a ring named after it in "Guild Wars 2" that can be obtained in the Fractals of the Mists or from laurel merchants.

Answer: World of Warcraft

Named for the Harathi tribe of centaurs, Harathi Hinterlands is the scene of a constant war between humans and centaurs of all tribes. Located in the northern reaches of Kryta, this once lush area is now almost entirely a battlefield littered with camps, outposts, and corpses.

The zone it references, the Arathi Highlands in "World of Warcraft", is also the scene of an embittered battle between various factions.

Answer: Super Adventure Box

The Super Adventure Box is the creation of Moto, a pioneering asura inventor. It was introduced in the "Super Adventure Box" release in 2013. The Box is a sort of 3D, 8-bit homage to classic video games. Several worlds are contained within, each with its own challenges to overcome and enemies to defeat. Special baubles can be collected and exchanged for special weapon skins outside the box. Princess Miya takes cues from Princess Peach of "Mario" fame and Princess Zelda of "The Legend of Zelda" (both creations of Shigeru Miyamoto), filling the role of "damsel in distress".

Answer: Elementalist

In the original "Guild Wars", Ride the Lightning was an Elite Skill that teleported the player to their target before blinding all surrounding enemies and dealing damage if the teleport target was an enemy. Fast forward to "Guild Wars 2", Ride the Lightning is now an off-hand dagger skill available when attuned to air. Upon use, you'll turn into a ball of lightning and dash forward before releasing a burst of energy, damaging anything nearby.

While this skill is a reference to the Metallica song, the song is a reference to death by electric chair (the victim was said to be "riding the lightning").

Answer: The Legend of Zelda

The Triforge Pendant can be created by first crafting three smaller pendants that form part of it: the Emerald, the Ruby, and the Sapphire Pendants. Each one of these is a perfectly usable item in its own right, but by combing them in the Mystic Forge with some Crystals will yield the Triforge Pendant of Exotic quality. It can be upgraded further to Ascended quality with a few extra materials in the Mystic Forge. The Pendant's description is also a reference to the Triforce, mentioning wisdom, courage, and power.

The second, less obvious reference is to the developer themselves. Prior to becoming ArenaNet, the company formed by ex-Blizzard staff was called Triforge.