ArenaNet has revealed the first expansion pack for its popular MMO Guild Wars 2, titled Crown of Thorns. The expansion will introduce a number of features to the already content-bursting game, including the long-awaited Guild Halls.

Taking to the stage at a PAX South panel this weekend, co-founder Mike O'Brien and game direction Colin Johanson revealed the Maguuma Jungle will be the setting of the new content, promising some of the deepest and most detailed content we've seen.

Unusually for an expansion pack, the developer has revealed it will not be raising the level cap in order to make sure all gear and old content is still relevant. The team has never wanted to focus on the so-called "gear treadmill", but promised endgame character progression will change through the new Masteries system.

Put simply, the Masteries system will enable you to survive in the jungle and facing its new foes. These skills and abilities will then be used in new group challenges. New profession specialisations will also be available. In essence, the expansion serves as a new vision for endgame progression in the title.

The new area coming to the game is called The Heart of Maguuma. It's made up of three key biomes, from the very depths of the roots all the way to the treetops. Along the way, you'll encounter a secret the last good dragon, Glint, left to try and give us a chance at the very end of Guild Wars 1.

The Masteries system is an account-based PvE progression system. Completing elements of the story you'll get Mastery points, as you complete exploring maps, hitting challenge spots, killing tough creatures and the like, then you can buy abilities for every character on your account. This is part of the game's no-grind philosophy. Some of the skills offered include the ability to hang glide, with more points enabling you to ride gusts of wind to climb and master exploration. You'll also be able to learn lore, understanding the local languages and getting access to secret areas as a result. You'll also be able to master collecting and crafting, so you'll be able to get legendary weapon precursors more easily.

The specialisations feature enables you to develop your character, almost giving you a secondary profession as in the original title. Rangers, for example, will be able to learn the abilities of the Druid, and will be able to use the Staff weapon, use a new heal skill, new utility skills and new profession mechanics that fundamentally change the way the profession plays. It was also teased that the Necromancer profession will get a specialisation focused on the Greatsword.

A new profession, the Revenant, will also be added. Rytlock will be returning as the first of his profession, and will be bringing with him the ability to channel and control the powers of the Mists. The heavy-armoured profession is able to use the Mists to channel the power of great legends to power the skills it has available, such as the ability to channel the powers of ancient dwarven kings, demons and more.

The WvW mode is getting a new Borderland map to be added to the game's rotation. Boasted as the most diverse map in the game, each keep has its own distinct theme with each objective applying buffs to your team. Controlling the Earth Shrine means the ground will raise up and attack foes. The Fire Shrine enables you to traverse the map more quickly thanks to lava pools opening up.

Competitive PvP is getting boosted with a new Stronghold Game Mode. You fight for control of supply, then spend these to hire troops and assault the enemy base. Your mission is to kill the enemy guild lord, with heroes also available for recruiting on the map. You'll also be able to form Guild teams and work your way up global leaderboards, to prove which is the best in the world.

Guild Halls are also on the way, though no info on what exactly that will entail yet.

While there's no release date as yet, Guild Wars 2 is currently available for $10 to celebrate the expansion announcement so, if this expansion has piqued your interest, it's probably a good time to grab it now.

Guild Wars 2's Living World narrative continues in its second season starting January 13th, 2015, developer ArenaNet confirmed on its official blog.

In celebration, the studio is starting an official countdown to the new season with a holiday-themed event that is due to start Dec. 16. Starting mid-December, ArenaNet will host its first-ever test ladder season in PvP. Players will be able to fight up the ladder in PvP over the next month using the game's new matchmaking and ladder formulas.

A monthly ESL championship is also being introduced starting today in the wake of the World Tournament Series finale event in Beijing. Starting today, top teams across North America and Europe will compete for over $3,000 in prizes while broadcasting live from the ESL HQ in Los Angeles and Cologne.

You can also expect the first Guild Wars 2 non-tournament World versus World event to take place this month with new rules.

"Join us as we turn the rules of WvW upside down for four weeks," reads a statement on the official Guild Wars blog. "Every player you kill in WvW will gain your world a point. Earn an extra point by using a finisher while your world has Borderlands Bloodlust. Objectives under attack will not display their customary white sword, and the Mist War Summons buff will give you an extra +15% WXP gain, +50% Magic Find in WvW, and +15% experience on kills in WvW. If all goes well, this will be just the first of many special events in WvW."

Developer ArenaNet has shed some light on what Guild Wars 2 players should expect from both Holiday Events and the second half of the current Living World Season.

A new blog post explains the Halloween-themed Mad Realm festival will return tomorrow, October 21, while Wintersday is back on December 16. Both releases will have the same content as last year, but the rewards on offer will be new.

The main thrust of the post, however, focuses on the "unforgettable" conclusion of the Living World Season 2, which is set to begin on November 4 less than three months after the mid-season finale, The Dragon's Reach: Part 2, which took place during a secret summit calling together the world's leaders to stop the elder dragon Mordremoth's advance.

As you can expect, Mordremoth and the Pale Tree's cryptic vision will play key roles in the new content, with game director Colin Johansen promising, "As we go on this journey we’ll learn dark secrets of Tyria’s past, venture into stories with roots deep in the very heart of Guild Wars lore, and visit places that have only been rumored to exist."

Guild War 2 developer ArenaNet has revealed through their website that the second season of living world content will be launching on November 4th, with a very mysterious picture teased.



ArenaNet's lore-filled press release is equally vague on what the next episode will entail: "Tyria's heroes are now scattered across the world but in pursuit of one goal: how to bring the battle to Mordremoth. The secret may lie in a vision delivered by the Pale Tree moments after she was badly wounded by the Shadow of the Dragon."

This new episode will go live less than three months after the mid-season finale, The Dragon's Reach: Part 2, which took place during a secret summit calling together the world's leaders to stop Mordremoth's advance. The content is sure to change the world as implied by its description, so keep your eyes peeled on the horizons.

The mid-season finale for Guild Wars 2's Living World Season 2 has now gone live, bringing with it new PvP rewards for the buy-to-play MMO.

The Dragon's Reach: Part 2 takes place during a summit in which the world's leaders are called together in response to the threat of a Mordremoth, one of the Elder Dragons advancing on the civilizations in Guild Wars 2. The update gives players more land in the Dry Step to explore, as well as PvP rewards from the Arid Region Reward Track.

As mentioned above, this new Living World update marks the mid-season break, in which ArenaNet will resume Living World content come North American Fall. While the Living World content is on hold, ArenaNet aren't stopping Guild Wars 2 development, with a new September 2014 Feature Pack making its way into the game come September 9th.

This new Feature Pack, like the April one earlier this year, aims to improve upon a number of gaming features including introducing the Guild Wars 2 World Tournament Series. The next three weeks will include changes to the competitive scene of Guild Wars 2, plus what sounds like a revamping of how you experience the game and how you collect and trade items. Find out more over at the official blog.

Continuing their bi-weekly Living World content updates, developer ArenaNet has today announced the newest addition to the ever-evolving world of Guild Wars 2: Dragon's Reach: Part 1.

"As the adventure of Season 2 continues, the whole of Tyria is threatened by the peril of the Elder Dragon Mordremoth," according to the YouTube blurb. "Attacks by its minions have stretched ever-farther afield, from the arid Maguuma wastes to the Timberline Falls and the heart of Kryta. All of Tyria must come to understand this dire threat."

Further information on the update has yet to be revealed, though we can expect the event to go live come July 29th for Guild Wars 2 players. Until that time, you can check out the trailer below for a glimpse of the action, and keep your eyes peeled on the Releases page of the website.

Guild Wars 2 developer ArenaNet has today revealed that a whopping 3.8 million Chinese players have picked up the buy-to-play MMO since its launch two months ago, an amazing feat for any developer.

According to the numbers posted on Reddit, this means that Guild Wars 2 has more than doubled its global playerbase thanks to the China launch. The last update we got on Guild Wars 2 player counts was back in August 2013, when the figure stood at roughly 3.5 million. Taking into account those figures, its safe to say that Guild Wars 2's global sales have surpassed the 7 million mark.

While it is no doubt a successful story to tell, it is a strange one considering China's love for free-to-play titles. With Guild Wars 2 being a buy-to-play title, whereby an initial box purchase is required then the game is completely free, it is definitely an unusual and very impressive story to tell.

Last week we saw the launch of Guild Wars 2's second season of Living World updates with players moving into the arid Maguuma Wastes, which is probably far warmer than here. While adventurers were called to assist Seraph forces in rooting out villainy in the Brisban Wildlands, the world continues to tick on with ArenaNet announcing the second episode today.

Set to begin on July 15th, players will soon be getting a taste of the vine treatment in the second episode of Living World content, titled "Entanglement." The update opens up the new area of Dry Top, where Tyria’s bravest adventurers can continue their story and thwart the growing evil. Given the setting that this one takes place in, we might suggest the use of gardening tools rather than swords and guns.

"There are secrets hidden within the newly revealed area of Dry Top, just waiting to be discovered," reads the description on the trailer below. "Continue your adventures in the Maguuma Wastes and take a stand alongside your fellow heroes against an ancient, growing threat." Guess we better hope for some handy gardening gloves.

Ahead of its July 1st launch, developer ArenaNet has today released a new teaser trailer depicting what we can expect in the second season of their free fortnightly "Living World" content updates.

The first update will begin on Tuesday and kick off the season with a rather explosive entry in the form of the Zephyrites sky pirates suffering a terrible attack to their vessel. The trailer also hints of trouble brewing in the western parts of the Brisban Wildlands, with players tasked with working together in the eyes of Marjory, Kasmeer, Rox, Braham and Taimi to figure out all the details on the situation.

Season 2 of Guild Wars' Living World content begins July 1st with The Gates of Maguuma. For more info on the update make sure you head over to the official splash page.

Guild Wars 2 developer ArenaNet has today announced that they will be bringing their popular MMORPG direct to Gamescom 2014 in a rather large way, with the studio holding a Guild Wars 2 tournament throughout the gaming convention.

Named the Guild Wars 2 International All-Stars Tournament, the competition will bring together players from across North America, Europe and China regions as they battle it out. ArenaNet announced the tournament on their website, however details on the format, participants or venue have not been revealed yet, though they did note that competitors will be flown to Cologne, Germany where Gamescom is hosted.

Alongside the tournament, Guild Wars 2 will also appear in the Twitch booth on the Gamescom floor, so expect coverage of all forms. Gamescom 2014 begins August 13th and runs through to August 17th.

ArenaNet is prepping Guild Wars 2 for its Living World Season 2 premiere date on July 1. The developer released a Season 1 recap to help prepare old and new users for the exciting content coming in Season 2.

Guild Wars 2‘s Living World Season 1 saw the rise of Scarlet Briar and her dastardly machinations against Tyria. When Scarlet Briar stormed Queen Jennah’s jubilee celebration seizing control of the watchknight defenders, the heroes of Tyria knew the face of their true enemy.

Briar brought together the Molten Alliance, the Aetherblade Pirates, her watchwork armies and the Toxic Alliance to stage a final battle for Lion’s Arch. The battle resulted in defeat for Briar. Yet the damage was done to Lion’s Arch even though the heroes of Tyria came out victorious. The fallout for Briar’s siege of Lion’s Arch is the awakening of a great evil beneath Tyria.

Players will learn more about this powerful new threat in Season 2 come July 1st. Check out the video below.

After taking a rather long vacation from its typical fortnightly releases, Guild Wars 2 developer ArenaNet has announced that the team will soon be preparing for a new season of time-limited updates and story content. Unlike last time though, this one will be sticking around in a more permanent state thanks to a new Journal feature.

Starting from the first episode on July 1st, players of the buy-to-play MMO will be able to "bank" all Living World content by simply logging in during the two-week period that the content is active. The new feature will allow players to then replay any of their banked episodes, allowing the previously temporary content to now become a more permanent state.

"With this addition to the story Journal, content from Living World episodes will be a mix of new story steps and open world content," explains game director Colin Johanson on the official website. "Story steps will work just like existing story steps in the game today by taking you on a journey specific to your selected episode, which ties into a broader narrative from the season’s continual story progress. Open world content additions to Living World updates will permanently expand or change the world of Tyria and will tie to the theme and story of the episode."

Happen to miss "banking" the episode? Not to worry, as ArenaNet will allow players who missed an episode the chance to purchase replay access directly through an in-game store, priced at 200 gems each episode. For more on the new Journal feature check out the official website.

The second season of Guild Wars 2's free Living World content will begin July 1st, developer ArenaNet announced today.

Season 2 takes place after the defeat of Scarlet Briar and the destruction of Lion's Arch, one of the game's major cities. A new foe in the form of an Elder Dragon has awoken in the west, while players must also deal with the fallout of Lion's Arch after its rather spectacular destruction in thefirst batch of Living World content.

Season 2 begins after the end of the Festival of the Four Winds, a Chinese-themed celebration of the game's recent launch in China. More information will be available as it nears its launch.

Guild Wars 2's latest update, Festival of the Four Winds, will celebrates the game's recent launch in China with the return of the Zephyrite festival, developer ArenaNet has today announced.

The update is now live across all servers, introducing the Four Winds bazaar plus a number of Chinese-inspired art and culture to celebrate the game's Chinese launch. Players can participate in the celebrations by heading to Labyrinthine Cliffs in-game, where they can take part in the Sanctum Sprint, hot air balloon rides and much more.

You can check out the teaser trailer below showing off a small glimpse of the content, which is now available on both North American and European servers. It will launch in China as the region's first update come later this week.

Guild Wars 2 players will be happy to know that the long-awaited April 2014 Feature Pack has now arrived for ArenaNet's buy-to-play MMO, bring a number of updates "focused on features and game systems."

The features are large and the patch notes even larger, all of which are available free of charge as per the usual Guild Wars 2 content system. Of note, changes include account-wide wardrobes that will make it easier to customize your look at any time and to share cosmetic items across all the characters on your account, the introduction of megaservers (only in level 1–15 maps, main cities, and the PvP lobby) and of course a huge amount of social play improvements plus class changes.

All this and more can be read through the April 2014 Feature Pack splash page, with the rather large patch notes available over here. According to ArenaNet we can expect these rather large feature packs to become the norm in-between living world releases, so expect the next one sometime next year if history is to repeat itself.

Guild Wars 2's upcoming April Feature Pack is just under a fortnight away, but looking at ArenaNet's most recent teaser, it looks like this content pack may be one of the more significant updates the game has seen since its release.

Since beginning the rolling updates on March 20th, the developers have revealed a number of upcoming changes to Traits, Skins, Crits, Slots, PvP as well as some other more fluff game systems. Today's latest post details a rather large milestone change for the game, the introduction of a "Megaserver System." This new dramatic change will dramatically alter how players populate various zones across Tyria, including dungeons and PvP. ArenaNet are hoping that by merging all servers together into one giant server, friends and guildmates will be more consistently placed together on the same busy map and boosting the more quieter ones.

Currently Guild Wars 2's server system is simple enough, with server world's being separated and any full zone pushing players into that server's "Overflow." Through the new megaserver, overflows will be abolished - instead each version of a zone will have equal standing, allowing it to be populated by all players from any home server.

"You will simply arrive in a map and be assigned to the version of that map that makes the most sense for you as selected by the megaserver system we’ve developed. This new system takes your party, guild, language, home world, and other factors into account to match you to a version of the map you’re entering. This will increase the odds that you’ll see the same people more often and play with people of similar interests."

Of course, the idea of one large server bringing together the entire region playerbase is a solid theory, questions still remain as to how this practice will work. Some of those have been answered in a short FAQ, though more specific ones - like how boss timers will work or the more obvious question on World vs World - will be answered in a separate post later in the week according to ArenaNet.

The new megaserver system won't be introduced in one sweeping change, the official website suggests. Instead, players will see the system rolling out across level 1-15 zones, main cities and the PvP lobby. That will all begin happening on April 15th, when the Feature Pack is released. You can find out more on all the new systems coming in the massive update over here, including a complete rundown of the megaserver functionings.

Guild Wars 2's upcoming April Feature Pack is set to introduce a number of changes to the way in which players live their daily lives, from various skill changes to the newest account-wide wardrobe addition. All these changes will be made available for free, and today ArenaNet has revealed further information on the clothing front.

Clothing is an important part in the MMORPG experience, as much as the gear itself is to character development. In some, glancing at a character can give you an idea on just what kind of level they are at, and in others there are countless offers for cosmetic options that allow you to be who you really want. With its quite interesting Wardrobe system, Guild Wars 2 is hoping to be exactly like the latter.

When you log in after the April 15 release, you’ll see some big changes. In your Hero Panel, the manner in which you equip different stat gear will remain the same. However, you’ll also see the Wardrobe tab, which collects every armor and weapon skin you unlock in the game on any character on your account!
The Wardrobe tab is the home of our new simplified transmutation system. When you’re in the Wardrobe tab, you can select skins to apply to your weapons and armor to update your look without losing your awesome stats. You’ll be able to preview your look right there in your Hero Panel and click “Apply” once you’re satisfied with your look to lock in your changes with Transmutation Charges. It’s as simple as that!

It isn't just the character clothing that is getting a makeover, with a new dye system being introduced to allow players further customisation to their character. Dyes will now be unlocked per account, and unidentified dyes will no longer drop as loot but will still be available from the Mystic Forge and select in-game rewards. A new Dye tab is also being introduced to further improve on dye confirmation and the ability to preview dye colours on your equipped armour.

For more on the new changes, check out the official blog post which also goes into great detail about the functionality side of the new system. The April 2014 Feature Pack will go live on April 15.

Guild Wars 2 is set to gain a patch that will focus solely on adding and enhancing the MMO's features, ArenaNet has revealed in a new blog post.

Arriving on April 15th, the new update is being referred to as the "April 2014 Feature Pack", and will be the first patch to not add anything in terms of story, instead focusing on quality of life enhancements. Of course, it will also be setting the stage for the future of the Living World story content.

ArenaNet will be revealing the full list of featured gradually, but the first is an overhaul of the current trait system. Set to add 40 new traits to the game, the April patch will also introduce a simplified UI and fresh horizontal progression opportunities for players.

One of the main changes to come out of the new trait system is the addition of grandmaster traits, and the fact you'll need to unlock major traits via the new trait guide items. These will be found by completing specific PvE content, like dungeons, bosses and personal story, though some can also be bought from profession trainers. Each class will also be getting a new grandmaster trait in a bid to offer more varied build possibilities.

Other changes include the fact you'll no longer need to visit a profession trainer to buy a training manual, instead allowing you to hit adept, master and grandmaster by reach levels 30, 60 and 80 respectively. These will be made available for free upon reaching the required level.

Trait points are also set to be condensed, with each new point now the equivalent of five of the old points. Points will be accrued from level 30 onwards at one every six levels, until you hit level 66 when you'll get two at a time. The hope is this makes spending traits easier for newcomers to understand. Finally, the team has also made refunding traits doable by the click of a button and it'll now be free.

Full details on the new trait overhaul can be found over here, and you can follow the unveil yourself by hitting up the official splash page.

ArenaNet's final Living Content story arc for their popular buy-to-play MMO Guild Wars 2 has seen an end, and with it the death of the tyrant Scarlet Briar and her united army.

At long last, the siege of Lion’s Arch has been broken and Scarlet’s reign of terror is at an end. Despite Scarlet’s death, all is not well: Lion’s Arch is little more than a smoldering husk, citizens are still camped near Vigil, the Durmand Priory, and Stormbluff Isle, and the cost of victory was high.

Beginning back in February of last year, ArenaNet's introduction to the living story sought for quick and successive updates to the MMO, allowing new and interesting features to be brought into the world on a bi-weekly schedule. The development has seen a number of both permanent and temporary changes to Tyria, including large jumping puzzles, seasonal events and giant femrobots.

You can watch the cinematic below, and you can expect the update titled ‘Aftermath’ to launch later today, with an official splash page now live on what you can do to help rebuild Lion's Arch.

ArenaNet's final Living Content story arc for their popular buy-to-play MMO Guild Wars 2 is now upon its citizens, bringing the past year of consistent updates to an end with a battle in the now-destroyed Lion's Arch.

Scarlet’s armies have razed Lion’s Arch and occupy the smoldering husk of the proud port city – but she has not won yet! With the noxious miasma dissipating, heroes and friends of Lion’s Arch can mount an assault to re-take the city and fight Scarlet herself. Free the city and put a stop to Scarlet’s machinations!

Lion’s Arch is crawling with Scarlet’s foot soldiers, and her champions are eager to defeat all would-be liberators. You’ll find yourself face-to-face with Scarlet’s most deadly champions: the Aetherblade Admiral, Toxic Spider Queen, Molten Shaman, and more. Worse things await you – beware the giant Assault Knights who guard the only way up to Scarlet’s airship!

As with the past content updates, you'll be tasked with completing a handful of new events to help stop the evil workings of Scarlet Briar, including stopping the villain herself by reaching her personal airship, the Breachmaker. Players will also have a chance to find one of two exotic rifle skins based on Scarlet's own weapon by killing enemies in Lion's Arch, but also power cores to upgrade your Tempered Spinal Blades.

Other content features include Scarlet's Champion Mini 3-Pack, the return of Tormented Weapons from the original Guild Wars, a Guild Shield finisher and of course a handful of other Gem Store items which you can find out on the official splash page. ArenaNet also revealed that come March 18th, a small release will be available that will provide an epilogue to the recent events. That release will show the aftermath of what players experience in the Battle for Lion’s Arch and will conclude the current story arc.

Battle for Lion's Arch is now available in-game, with players having to simply update their client to gain access.