20 rugpjūčio, 2024
Note: Originally published at 6:00 a.m. Pacific Time (UTC-7) on August 20, 2024.
Hello, Tyrians,
Happy release day! When Guild Wars 2®: Janthir Wilds™ launches in just a few short hours, you’ll begin a bold adventure into a dangerous and untamed wilderness. The denizens of Tyria are determined to recover and build a new future, and cooperation with neighbors is crucial. Your mission: befriend the lowland kodan and uncover the mysteries of a land that was once home to the enigmatic mursaat and their White Mantle followers.
In Guild Wars 2: Janthir Wilds, you’ll embark on a story that unfolds across four major releases, starting with today’s launch and continuing with quarterly updates through the first half of 2025. Below is a high-level view of what’s going live today and our plans for what’s coming in the following three quarterly releases.
There’s a significant change to our map content plans that we’d like to bring to your attention. We had originally announced that the expansion would feature three open-world maps—two at launch, with a third released in a quarterly update that would then be expanded on in a subsequent quarterly release, like Inner Nayos. Rather than shipping the third map in two parts, we will instead be releasing a standalone map in both the second and third quarterly releases, each similar in size to Lake Doric. This brings the total open-world map count for Guild Wars 2: Janthir Wilds up from three to four.
As always, game development is full of surprises, so this roadmap comes with a general disclaimer that our release plans may change, despite our best efforts.
In addition to all the content going live today, this quarter will also include a skills and balance update, our annual Halloween festival, a WvW update, a beta event for the new PvP game mode, the return of structured PvP’s Tournament of Legends, and multiple bonus events.
Festivals and Bonus Events
Here’s the full schedule of festivals and bonus events coming to Guild Wars 2 in the next few months:
August 20–August 26: Twitch Drops
August 26: Guild Wars 2 Anniversary Week
September 10–September17: Fractal Rush Bonus Event
September 17–September 24: Return to Path of Fire Bonus Event
September 24–October 1: WvW Rush Bonus Event
October 1–October 8: Living World Season 4 Bonus Event
October 15–November 5: Shadow of the Mad King Halloween Festival
Don’t forget to bookmark our handy event calendar to keep tabs on what’s happening in the game!
Lastly, we have some cozy Guild Wars 2: Janthir Wilds key art wallpaper to share with everyone! We’re incredibly excited to share Guild Wars 2: Janthir Wilds with you. Thank you for being part of this journey and for your continued support over the years!
We’ll see you in Janthir,
—Guild Wars 2 Team
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19 rugpjūčio, 2024
Guild Wars 2®: Janthir Wilds™ launches tomorrow, and along with it come oodles of new items for the Gem Store. Let’s take a look at everything that will be available starting tomorrow!
Janthir Wilds Launch Supply Drop Requisition
Heed the call of the Janthir region for amazing weekly supplies and more! When you purchase the Janthir Wilds Launch Supply Drop Requisition, the Black Lion Trading Company will send you a package of valuable items each week. The first supply drop will arrive as soon as you’ve purchased a requisition, and the others will be delivered on the three following Mondays.
This week, the Janthir Wilds Launch Supply Drop Requisition is available at the discounted price of 2,400 gems. The discount decreases each week, so pick up yours now for the best price—and get your first shipment of items today! (Limited to one purchase per account. Purchases made after week one will include items from the previous weeks in the first delivery.)
Week One:
Janthir Wilds Expedition Contract*
Wild Roar Mount Select License
2 Heroic Boosters
Week Two:
Wisteria Spear Skin (shown above!)
Black Lion Outfit Voucher
3 Smooth Berry Dye Kits
Week Three:
Void Corrupted Weapon Choice
Black Lion Backpack and Glider Voucher
Communal Boost Bonfire
Week Four:
5 Black Lion Chest Keys
Black Lion Weapons Voucher
Golden Black Lion Chest Key
*The Secrets of the Obscure Expedition Contract will be available for purchase at a later date.
Wild Roar Mount Collection
A new, fierce adventure is starting; follow its roar in the untamed wilds of Janthir! These skins are available exclusively through Wild Roar Mount Select Licenses for 1,200 gems and Wild Roar Mount Adoption Licenses for 400 gems.
Raptor: Aurora Blessed Feathered Raptor
Springer: Nightkissed Cuckoo, Woodborn Scout Cuckoo
Skimmer: Kintsugi Skimmer
Jackal: Blazing Vulpine, Land Speckled Vulpine
Warclaw: Aurene’s Prismatic Warclaw, Dense Haar Caprine Warclaw, Glacial Caprine Warclaw, Spotted Plower Caprine Warclaw
Griffon: Scaled Netherwing, Vital Geode Griffon
Skyscale: Lepidote Brute Manticore, Star Blessed Manticore
Siege Turtle: Charged Siege Turtle
Dueling Elements Appearance Package
Ice and fire are elements that have a long history together. The Elder Dragons Jormag and Primordus embodied their virtues and flaws—these outfits are infused with that never-ending duality. Take on the wild power of these two sides of the same cycle in the form of frozen wastes or volcanic fires.
The Dueling Elements Appearance Package contains the Igneous Regalia Outfit, Igneous Chair, Frozen Regalia Outfit, Frozen Chair, and one Total Makeover Kit for 1,600 gems. The outfits and chairs can be bought separately in our available packages: the Dueling Elements Outfit Package for 1,100 gems and the Dueling Elements Chair Package for 960 gems.
Black Lion Chest Update: Sky Conquest
Inside each chest, you’re guaranteed to find a redeemable Black Lion Statuette, Gnashblade’s Exotic Weapon Grab Bag, and two common items. You also have a chance to find something rarer in the fifth slot, including special items, glyphs, and skins from the Vinelord Edgebloom Weapon Collection and the Necrotic Essence Weapon Collection.
Exclusive Item: Skysteel Package
Blessed by the northern winds, these swords shine with a cyan hue mirroring the endless skies. Arm yourself with the beauty of the Skysteel Package’s craftsmanship, whether you’re fighting, gilding, or traveling. This package contains the Skysteel Greatsword Skin, Skysteel Chair, and Skysteel Glider.
Void Corrupted Weapon Collection
The Void is an all-encompassing force to be reckoned with, and Soo-Won’s echo will give purpose to your battles with its dark beauty. Each Void Corrupted weapon skin can be obtained in exchange for 1 Black Lion Claim Ticket.
What’s in Stock
Race through verdant forests or azure seas! Starting August 23 and continuing for the next few days, select mount and skiff skins will be 20% off, including the Plush Raptor Skin, Regal Moth Skyscale Skin, Floating Lantern Skiff Skin, Synergetics Cyberhound Skin, and many more!
Returning This Week
Infinite salvage kits and Equipment Template Expansions are 20% off and Build Template Expansions are 40% off from August 20 until August 27. Salvage and organize all that you need!
Available Now in the Gem Store!
Log into Guild Wars 2 and press ‘O’ to access the Black Lion Trading Company for these great offers and more!
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15 rugpjūčio, 2024
Hello, Tyrians!
Guild Wars 2®: Janthir Wilds™ is just around the corner, and while we have been sharing exciting features such as Homesteads, raids, PvE warclaws, and spears making landfall, we have even more to share!
A new season of the Wizard’s Vault will be arriving on August 20, and with it comes new rewards and a new type of offering called a quest license that is exclusive to Guild Wars 2: Janthir Wilds. Those who wish to brave the unknowns of the Janthir region can pick up this new item using astral acclaim and set forth on a journey where your efforts will be rewarded with star-studded ascended items.
The excitement continues beyond the wilds with the return of Twitch Drops! Watch your favorite Guild Wars 2 streamers to obtain cool rewards including the “/sipcoffee” Emote Tome!
There are lots of rewards to uncover on August 20, so let’s dive into it!
Explore the New Season of the Wizard’s Vault
For those with Guild Wars 2: Janthir Wilds unlocked, there are new, unique rewards waiting, such as the Onyx Spider’s weapon collection and the helm, shoulders, and gloves from the macabre Rot Stalker armor set! In addition, legacy items from previous seasons can also be obtained through the Legacy tab; these still require their associated expansion to purchase.
This season also introduces a new item type to the Wizard’s Vault: the Falling Star Quest License. This license sets you on a journey into the newly uncovered Janthir region, and once the adventure is complete, you can earn the ascended Falling Star spear and the Meteor-Wielder’s Glove. Equip both of these items at the same time, and watch the spear become superheated!
We have also added Legendary Starter Kit—Set 5, featuring two new weapon kits and two returning ones. You’ll find new daily and weekly tasks as you adventure through Guild Wars 2: Janthir Wilds, and more special objectives will also be added throughout the season, including those tied to bonus events and festivals.
Twitch Drops
Twitch Drops are back, just in time for the release of Guild Wars 2: Janthir Wilds! From August 20 at 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time (UTC-7) to August 25 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time (UTC-7), you’ll be able to watch your favorite Guild Wars 2 streamer and snag some awesome rewards, including the highly requested “/sipcoffee” Emote Tome. Here’s what you can unlock when you watch:
Fuzzy Quaggan Hat Skin—2 hours of viewing time
Green Quaggan Backpack Cover—4 hours of viewing time
Mini Pet Bundle —6 hours of viewing time
“/sipcoffee” Emote Tome—8 hours of viewing time
Pirate Cosmetic Bundle —10 hours of viewing time
We are excited to explore Guild Wars 2: Janthir Wilds with all of you soon! Be sure to keep an eye out on our social media channels and official platforms as we share more information prior to its launch.
Prepurchasing any edition of Guild Wars 2: Janthir Wilds before the expansion launches will grant you the “Homesteader” title, the Whispering Serpents Pauldrons Skin, and a box with your choice of one Serpent’s Wrath weapon skin.
Visit the official store page for full details on the items included in the Standard, Deluxe, and Ultimate editions.
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12 rugpjūčio, 2024
Hello, everyone!
We’re excited to announce this year’s Guild Wars 2® fan event, happening on Friday, August 30 to celebrate the launch of Guild Wars 2: Janthir Wilds™ and all things Guild Wars 2! If you are going to be in town, we’d like you to join us for an evening of food, drinks, and giveaways with Guild Wars 2 developers and your fellow community members.
This event will be on Friday, August 30 from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Pacific Time at the Olympic Sculpture Park here in Seattle (close to PAX West, for those wishing to attend both events). While this event is free, the venue capacity is limited. Those wishing to attend can register here starting August 12 at 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time (UTC-7) to guarantee admission. If you’re not able to register before all tickets are claimed, we will have a standby line at the venue and will admit guests as attendance and capacity allow.
For those attending the event, an ID check will be performed at the entrance. Please bring a photo ID and your mobile or printed ticket in order to enter.
We’re looking forward to seeing you there!
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7 rugpjūčio, 2024
Greetings, Wayfinders. My name is Taylor “Trig” Brooks, and I am a combat designer here at ArenaNet. We ran a beta event in June for the new Guild Wars 2®: Janthir Wilds™ combat feature: land spear proficiency. Today, I’ll go over the feedback we saw about the spears and the changes you can expect to see when the weapons are released this August. This blog will outline what we feel are the most impactful changes at a broad level; the full list of changes will be detailed in the expansion release notes.
Elementalist
Spear-wielding elementalists sought to harness the power of natural disasters to bring calamity to their enemies. It is the most visually ambitious weapon we have created, and we couldn’t be prouder of the Art Team’s work. However, in the beta, the damage wasn’t as impressive as the visuals were. We agree with the feedback that the weapon’s power level landed too low, and you can expect to see damage increases for all game modes, especially for the capstone etching skills.
Alongside damage enhancements, we’ll be making the following quality-of-life adjustments to the weapon. Etching durations will be increased by a few seconds, while Ripple’s distance is now controllable through a ground target. Seethe and Energize will not affect autoattacks, and the visual noise of etchings has been reduced. We’ve also added a strike-damage component to Fulgor and rebalanced some of its effectiveness away from the damage over time in PvE for a more immediate effect. We’re hoping these changes result in a smoother experience with greater impact.
Necromancer
Necromancers aim to execute their foes with both spear and soul shards. With a gameplay loop of building and spending these soul shards, we saw that the shard economy was too dominated by Isolate and Distress. We are increasing soul shard generation outside of the fourth spear skill, and soul shard duration will now be refreshed when you gain more shards. With those changes and a lowering of the threshold needed to immobilize with Addle, we are hoping the weapon has a more consistent power level and doesn’t feel as weak when you miss Isolate. Additionally, Extirpate will now generate life force as well, to help you follow up on its big hit.
Mesmer
Mesmer spear provided a unique gameplay pattern, and we were happy to see it find use in many places. The beta event gave us clarity about how we could make the weapon feel even better. The largest problem we got feedback on was that the weapon’s performance varied a lot depending on whether you had Clarity. Clarity will now be gained by hitting Mind the Gap, regardless of whether it was an outer-edge hit. But that outer edge will still be important! We’re updating the visual to better outline where that hitbox is, and the skill will still deal increased damage as well as a guaranteed critical hit on the outer edge.
Imaginary Inversion is also seeing a shift in how the skill functions. To help the consistency of the tools it brings, it will now always clear conditions from you at the start of casting, with no Clarity required. It will also heal you if you evade an attack, even if you don’t land the attack portion. Clarity will now increase this healing.
The final large change to the weapon concerns its phantasms. We saw in the beta that the lancers routinely got outplayed by terrain, whether that was a cliff or a small pebble. The lancers have taken a more vertical approach to their attack, and they will now jump in the air and launch a spear at their target instead. This spear will damage an area on impact, a much more reliable follow-up for the mesmer.
Thief
Thief spear endeavored to bring the skill-chaining mechanic used by assassins in the original Guild Wars® into the modern game. We were pleased to see how it turned out, but we found that it could use some polish. We will be changing a rule for how the skill chains progress; the chain will now always progress when you use a skill instead of relying on hitting a target. This aims to help the weapon feel smoother with the skill queueing system and enhance its reliability in competitive modes. The weapon ended strong in PvE, so there will be some unsurprising downward adjustments to its damage output. Its finishing skills and stealth skill will have their target cap raised to help thief spear’s identity as a cleaving weapon.
Ranger
Much like elementalist spear, ranger spear had a strong narrative theming, but it didn’t quite follow through fully in the game. Some of its skills, like its stealth skills and Bee’s Sting, lacked the damage needed to make it a competitive option against other ranger weapons.
Additionally, due to the popularity of traps and other pulsing damage skills, it was hard to weave in and out of stealth and complete your attack before you were revealed. To remedy this, Panther’s Prowl will now grant Hunter’s Prowess for a short duration. Hunter’s Prowess will allow you to use your next stealth skill even if you were revealed.
Another issue was Panther’s Prowl and Spider’s Web sharing a cooldown. This was consistent with the rest of the weapon’s skills, but it made the opportunity cost for using Spider’s Web too large. We’ll be separating their cooldowns so that using Spider’s Web feels good and you don’t have to worry about wasting a charge of stealth.
Engineer
Engineer spear surged onto the scene, finding a home mainly in condition-based builds in PvE. It sported competitive numbers but was still rough around the edges in places. Keeping track of who was focused and for how long wasn’t an easy task, so we’ll be adding a visual aura to your focused target. We’ll also be adding an effect to the player when they have a focused target, making it easier to determine how long the mark will persist. Some casting times were also a bit slow; they’ll be sped up to help the weapon feel smooth. Lastly, Devastator will see speed increases, a range increase, and a significant reduction in its aftercast.
Revenant
Revenant spear aimed to be a heavy weapon that built up strength, culminating in powerful damage. However, in the beta we saw that this weight was unwieldy and its punches lacked impact. Casting times are being decreased across many skills, and we are increasing the condition variety of the skills to help its damage stick.
Crushing Abyss’s maximum stacks has been reduced from 5 to 3, making the weapon reach its maximum potential a lot faster. Abyssal Blot will now pull immediately, helping the weapon set itself up better. The result of these changes is a more fluid weapon with more tools to secure its damage.
Guardian
Guardian spear shone brightly in WvW, especially in large-scale fights. Spear’s biggest pain point was how its second skill functioned. Pressing the key again to stop early felt awkward and had a few bugs. Helio Rush is seeing an update similar to the elementalist’s Ripple: it is now a ground target, and you will stop when reaching the target location. Its tool kit is getting some updates, like improvements to its self-healing and healing on Solar Storm, and Symbol of Luminance will now always apply resistance to allies once.
Warrior
Spear on warrior was met with mixed reception. It was a strong option in PvP but didn’t stand out in other places. Its range threshold mechanic also didn’t garner a warm welcome. Warrior spear will be updated to feature a new mechanic.
We want to emphasize the force the warrior is launching their spears with, but in a different way. Instead of effectiveness varying by distance, skills will now do more damage to the first target struck. Spear Swipe will get some updates to its functionality, such as a cooldown refund if you evade an attack with it. The most important note is that the spearmarshal has been sent back to remedial javelin school, as Spearmarshal’s Support has been improved and will now track the target better.
Well, that wraps things up for the high-level changes coming to spears when they launch with Guild Wars 2: Janthir Wilds. For the exact numbers and smaller changes, be sure to check out the official release notes when the expansion is live on August 20.
Until next time, I’ll see you in the Mists!
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