Have you ever returned to an old park or neighborhood that you haven’t been to since your childhood and found it simultaneously super familiar but also completely changed? Get ready to feel that way in Guild Wars 2: End of Dragons when you visit Echovald Forest, which is just as beautiful and dangerous as ever, though no longer petrified by the Jade Wind!
ArenaNet streamed an early look at this nostalgic locale over the weekend, beginning by dashing the hopes of many players. “There are a whole lot of Tengu,” ArenaNet’s Rubi Bayer said. “That is not a hint at playable Tengu; playable Tengu are not a thing in End of Dragons.”
Sorry to those who had their hopes up, but if you’re a fan of bird people, you will at least be seeing a lot of them, in new and unique forms, in this zone. Senior Writer Morgan Lockhart explained that while the Human Ministry of Purity long ago tried to expel all non-humans from Cantha, a group of Tengu called the Kestrels hid themselves in Echovald Forest. Now that the Ministry is gone, they have established a town, which seems to be a primary hub for this zone, and the Kestrels, who accept Tengu and humans alike, now act as protectors of Echovald Forest.
Two human gangs, called the Speakers and the Jade Brotherhood, are warring for control over Echovald and Cantha as a whole. Expect to run into these gangs fighting each other — and you — as you explore this zone and learn more about their intentions. One area where you will run in to them should be familiar to Guild Wars 1 fans, especially Kurzicks: the ruins of House zu Heltzer, which has apparently been turned into a tourist attraction.
The devs on stream also talked about Echovald’s new meta event, which involves helping the Kestrels destabilize the two warring gangs and help defend all of the local villages from them.
Be sure to check out the full stream below for all the juicy details!
