Guild Wars 2’s anniversary hoopla and Steam rollout are underway today as planned, and it’s got plenty of gifts in store.
We checked out the freebies this afternoon on a 10-year-old toon made at the dawn of the game’s headstart; the 10th birthday gift contains a pair of birthday boosters, five teleports-to-friend, a bag of spirit shards, the karma-filled birthday card, two Black Lion statuettes, and the proof of legend. There’s also a one-per-account decade anniversary achievement box, which includes a guaranteed wardrobe unlock, a Delectable Birthday Dyes selection box, two anniversary weapon packs, and two of the new Dragon Decade weapon packs, which feature new models based on Guild Wars 2’s iconic imagery.
The “proof of legend” token has been the subject of the most mystery today, but it appears to be exchangeable for pieces of a new set of exclusive armor (teased last week and shown in the header image above) as well as a few other quality-of-life tools. Decade-old toons will apparently get an extra piece to share with friends. At the moment, the in-game message points to a dead link, but we assume it’ll be up and running soon. [Update: It’s working now!]
Here are a couple of the Dragon Decade weapons:
Of course, if you’ve somehow never played Guild Wars 2 or are eager to start a fresh account, you’re probably much more excited about the Steam launch, which also arrives today, though not without some grumbling as it lacks account-linking functionality (though it does have full crossplay as Steam players will be funneled to the same servers as everyone else).
“Guild Wars 2 launched on August 28, 2012, and since then, over sixteen million players from across the globe have stepped into Tyria,” ArenaNet wrote last week, talking up its lack of sub fee and anti-P2W monetization. “Later this month, we’ll reach an incredible milestone by celebrating the tenth anniversary of the Guild Wars 2 launch. Together, we’ve embarked on epic adventures, forged lifelong friendships and rivalries, created countless memories, and defeated a few dragons in the process, too. Ten years is a remarkable achievement for an online game, especially when you consider that many don’t make it through the first. We continue to be thankful to you, our community—we’re here today because of your support and trust.”
Finally, don’t forget to pop in and grab a few more freebies from the cash shop:
Celebrate #TenYearsOfGW2 with friends!
For the next 3 weeks, log in to Guild Wars 2 to claim a free gift package from the Gem Store: 5 Teleports to Friend and a Revive Orb! pic.twitter.com/fjdPOxeq4S
— Guild Wars 2 (@GuildWars2) August 23, 2022
