Since July’s issue of MMOCO, some big things have happened for Guild Wars 2. Details on the long-awaited Path of Fire expansion were released and a preview weekend happened just this last weekend. For August, we’ll be diving into these two topics.
Guild Wars 2 players have known that Arenanet has been working on a second expansion to the game for a long time now. I recall learning about its development not so long after the release of the first expansion, Heart of Thorns, which came out in October 2015. Details were slim and mostly rumor, though, and the second expansion’s release date became less and less predictable over time. So it was a bit of a shock to me when Arenanet suddenly announced at the end of July that they would be doing a full reveal of the second expansion on August 1st.
As promised, Path of Fire was revealed to the world on August 1st. In a similar fashion as the first expansion, Path of Fire will open up a whole new part of the world to players. This time, it’s the Crystal Desert and Elona, two locations that were heavily featured in Guild Wars: Prophecies and Guild Wars: Nightfall respectively. In the lore of Guild Wars 2, the residents of Tyria have been cut off from the two other highly populated continents (Elona and Cantha) since the rise of Zhaitan (the Elder Undead Dragon of Orr). The six gods of the world have been silent for over 200 years, though humans still worship them. But in Path of Fire, players will begin to venture into Elona as they encounter the return of the Balthazar, the god of war and fire. They will begin to answer two of the game’s most pressing lore questions: what happened to the people of Elona and where have the gods gone?
The expansion will add one new elite specialization to each existing profession. First introduced in Heart of Thorns, elite specializations require characters fully unlock all non-elite specialization lines and be level 80. Only one elite specialization can be equipped at a time and they grant access to a new weapon type for the profession as well as new healing, utility, and elite skills. The names and weapons for the new elite specializations are as follows: Engineer: Holosmith (one-handed sword), Guardian: Firebrand (axe), Thief: Deadeye (rifle), Warrior: Spellbreaker (dagger), Mesmer: Mirage (axe), Necromancer: Scourge (torch), Elementalist: Weaver (one-handed sword), Ranger: Soulbeast (dagger), Revenant: Renegade (shortbow). Check out the elite specializations video below for more details on each specialization:
Path of Fire will also introduce the highly-requested mount feature into the game. Unlocked through the Mastery system (a max level progression system first introduced in the first expansion), mounts will offer new ways to explore the world while also, of course, giving a travel speed increase. The Raptor, Skimmer, Springer, and Jackal each have their own unique strengths and set of skills.
Two Path of Fire preview weekends were announced right after the expansion reveal: August 11-13 (open world and raptor mount) and August 18-20 (PvP and WvW with new elite specializations). Anyone with a GW2 account in good standing can participate in these preview weekends (and since the core game is free, anyone can create an account). This last weekend, I jumped into the open world preview to check it out. After a cutscene showing the player flying over the Crystal Desert, I was placed into a story mission that sets up the tone of the expansion. Upon completing it, I was placed in the Free City of Amnoon, which I assume will be a major hub in the expansion. From there, I was free to explore the open world around the city.
During my time exploring the open world in Path of Fire, I found and tamed a new Ranger pet (the Sand Lion), completed some open world events, fought brand-new enemy types (the sand sharks were both super cool and super annoying), and attempted a Champion-level bounty (a new type of open world encounter). I also unlocked a Mastery Point (by playing a type of Diner Dash mini-game in the city) and the Raptor mount. I wasn’t one of the people who desperately needed mounts in GW2, but I did find the Raptor mount fun to have. He had a tail spin that I could use to dismount and damage enemies (after ranking up the mount’s first mastery level, this tail spin did more damage). The small part of the open world I was able to preview contained more of the things I’ve come to expect in Guild Wars 2 with some slight twists and variations. Most notably, the Crystal Desert feels like a new land, which I think is really important to the experience. And I'd be remiss if I didn't point out that Crystal Desert’s skyline is absolutely breathtaking.
Though there wasn’t a huge wealth of things to do in the short first preview weekend, it did whet my appetite for the expansion. I’m a big franchise fan, so uncovering some of the story’s big mysteries is an exciting prospect for me. Not to mention I’m simply dying to try out the new Elite Specializations. Path of Fire releases September 22nd, 2017, and I hope to be in the thick of things when it launches.