Guild Wars 2 has nearly 300,000 active players daily, and the long-running MMO is nearing the release of its third full expansion pack: End of Dragons. End of Dragons brings the Commander to the eastern-themed continent of Cantha - a land last visited in Factions, the first expansion pack for the original Guild Wars. Much has changed across the world of Tyria over the 250 years between games, leaving new wonders, mysteries, and dangers for Guild Wars 2 players to discover.
Game Rant joined a hands-on guided tour of Cantha to experience some highlights for Guild Wars 2: End of Dragons. The development team showed off the Canthan Guild Hall, its new fishing system, and the upcoming skiff vehicle. The tour also included new combat content, such as a Group Mission featuring the new siege turtle mount, a high-difficulty Strike Mission, and the Elder Dragon-themed Legendary Weapons.
Guild Wars 2, Better Together
The End of Dragons digital tour began with the new Canthan Guild Hall, the Isle of Reflection. Located on the island of Tinnairukan, site of the former Shing Jea Arena in Guild Wars, veteran fans may recognize the battleground where they defeated Reiko Murakami of the Ministry of Purity. Players can unlock the Isle of Reflection Guild Hall through a story quest that will scale in difficulty, meaning guilds of any size can complete it.
As one may expect from the name, the Isle of Reflection provides ample space for fishing, a new mastery line in End of Dragons with an emphasis on social gameplay. Players can fish in bodies of water in any area in Guild Wars 2, and can participate in Fishing Tournaments across Tyria. Throughout End of Dragons, players can also unlock the skiff: a five-person water mount that can drop anchor to provide mobile fishing spots. Though it can be a relaxing solo endeavor, players who fish together get a boost to their effectiveness, meaning they can collect even more rare fish to use in cooking recipes and crafting Legendary Weapons.
Guild Wars 2's new Legendary Weapons are themed after Aurene. These beautiful, crystaline weapons contain a fraction of the power of the prismatic Elder Dragon, and are the third set of Legendary Weapons the game has introduced. Players can complete multiple crafting and combat challenges, unlocking mighty weapons for Guild Wars 2 characters of specific professions that are set with customizable stats and special Elder Dragon finishing flourishes. Guild Wars 2 will also be adding upgrades that allow these Legendary Weapons to adopt the appearances and abilities of the game's five other Elder Dragons, leading to six different appearances for all 16 weapons.
The Guilds and Wars in End of Dragons
Equipped with Legendary Weapons, the Guild Wars 2 digital tour reached the Echovald Wilds Described as the “Alaska of Cantha,” this massive forest was petrified by the cataclysmic Jade Wind in Guild Wars: Factions, and has gradually seen life return over the last two-and-a-half centuries. Despite this, the echoes of the Kurzicks - the defunct faction which once called Echovald home - are still evident in the ruins across the land, like the capital of House zu Heltzer.
Three gangs vie for control of the uncontrollable forest: the Jade Brotherhood, the Speakers, and the Kestrels. The Jade Brotherhood is an extremist faction formed when the co-founder of the Xunlai Jade Corporation of Cantha split off to further jade tech advancement without rules or regulations. The Speakers oppose the spread of jade tech, and wield spirit magic to fight against it. Lastly, the Kestrels are independent and skeptical rangers who seek peace and quiet for the Wilds.
One returning area in End of Dragons is Fort Aspenwood: a PvP map from Guild Wars: Factions. The old fort is now a jade tech weapons lab for the Jade Brotherhood. However, when the jade tech constructs went haywire, a member of the Jade Brotherhood teamed up with a Kestrel to handle the mess (along with help from players' adventurers). Mounted upon End of Dragons' new Siege Turtle, the assault team broke into the fort, destroyed waves of automaton defenses and mutated Jade Brotherhood experiments, and destroyed the Gods’ Vengeance: an ancient Kurzick super weapon that had gained a sentience thanks to the Jade Brotherhood’s mad science. The multipart siege was just one of many area events players can look forward to in the Echovald Wilds and the other areas of End of Dragons.
Strike Mission Impossible: The Aetherblade Hideout
The Guild Wars 2: End of Dragons tour culminated in a Strike Mission, the newest type of battle introduced during the Icebrood Saga. In End of Dragons, core boss encounters in solo instances throughout the story will appear in the 10-man Strike Missions across multiple difficulties, each with greater rewards, so players of multiple skill levels in Guild Wars 2 can challenge them. The Aetherblade Hideout is one such Strike Mission, in which players were confronted with Mai Trin, Captain of the Aetherblades: a troublesome group of multidimensional pirates who have been a thorn in the sides of Commanders since Living World Season 1.
Trin has new tricks up her sleeve, and the battle was chaotic, exciting, and deadly. Choosing from the nine new Elite Specializations in End of Dragons, Game Rant chose Bladesworn: the new gunsaber-wielding Warrior who combines powerful strikes with devastating explosions. Its powerful samurai-like Dragon Slash abilities weren’t enough to protect against the Strike Mission’s twists and turns, and not even God Mode cheat codes can save one from instant death mechanics. However, with tenacity, teamwork, and a little developer magic, the media tour put an end to Mai Trin’s scheme.
There are many things for players to look forward to in End of Dragons. With a mix of brand-new locations and callbacks to events from Guild Wars, both old and new Guild Wars 2 players will take a lot from what Cantha has to offer. Though End of Dragons does not have a release date yet, Guild Wars 2 is almost ready to nail down a precise time, and it should be out by the end of February. With launch just around the corner, players should expect more reveals in the weeks leading up to the conclusion of the Elder Dragons saga.
Guild Wars 2 is available now on PC, with End of Dragons releasing in February 2022.