Guild Wars 2 Crew Shares Stories of Mental Health & Friendship
The Guild Wars 2 family is holding the Friend/Ships 2020 campaign this February, with the central theme being struggles with mental health, opening a conversation about it, and how friendships can help. Not to editorialize too much, but I love what they’re doing here. Basically, they’re holding a contest in which people share their stories on social media, and the prize is your own NPC in the game. There’s more to the campaign, of course, so let’s dive straight in.
Guild Wars 2 Friend/Ships 2020, the community spotlight campaign that Arena.net holds annually, is now officially under way. To mark the occasion, the team has released a video in which developers, influencers, and fans share their stories about mental health, and the role that friendships had in it, be it them helping others or the other way around. It’s truly touching, and you can watch it below. Maybe it’ll end up helping you, who knows?
On top of that, the team seems to be encouraging people to speak up about the subject of mental health, which I find incredibly admirable. They’re holding a contest where players share their stories of friendships and mental health on social media using the hashtag #GW2Friendships, or on the official Friend/Ships website. Those of you that share stories using the hastag will be eligible to have your very own NPC in the game.
Also, if you visit the gem shop during February, you can pick up a free T-shirt outfit to show your support for the Friend/Ships campaign in-game. The shirt will stick around in the store until March 2nd. I mean, that might even help start conversations about mental health inside the world of Guild Wars 2. That sounds kinda cool, honestly.
So, yeah. Check out the video below to watch the team’s stories and share your experiences with the community, if you want to. And please, if you’re having trouble, if you’re not in a good place, please please please, reach out to somebody you trust. You might be surprised how much people really care. Try to get professional help, too, if you can. Heck, reach out to me; I’ve had my share of issues and know how it feels. Just don’t suffer in silence.
