So who’s up for a new Guild Wars 2 expansion? What if I told you Guild Wars 2 is about to get a real housing system, and I’m not talking about personal instances, and we never have to have the “personal instancing isn’t real housing” discussion ever again? That’s what I thought!
First things first: The expansions is called Janthir Wilds, and it launches August 20th, with basically the same cadence as Secrets of the Obscure – that’s a paid expansion in the late summer, followed by three more quarterly updates for expansion owners leading to next summer, when we start the arc all over again. Those updates will ultimately include another map, a new raid, and the new PvP game mode.
“Launch day will see two new maps set among the deltas and islands of Janthir’s untamed wilderness, including the Lowland Shore, home to the Lowland Kodan, and the Janthir Syntri with its dangerous rocky shores, wandering titans, and mystic storms,” ArenaNet explains. “The expansion’s all-new story begins in the wake of the events of Secrets of the Obscure. Together with the Astral Ward and a council of nations from across Tyria, players will journey to Janthir and make contact with the Lowland Kodan, the tribal, pastoral residents of this rugged region, learning about their culture, and discovering the secrets of a primordial magical threat wreaking havoc in the depths of the wild.”
But most excitingly, ArenaNet is using this expansion to finally – and after years of begging – add a proper player housing system to the game. The so-called Homesteads system, ArenaNet says, is the “most player-friendly housing system in an MMORPG,” featuring “a brand new customization and decorating interface” with which “heroes can create and adorn their very own housing space for their friends and guild mates.”
It also sounds as if the studio is rehabbing the ol’ WvW warclaw mount the same way it polished up skyscales last year; players “learn to tame feral Warclaws,” which “will allow players to hop in the saddle and explore Janthir, developing the steed’s special abilities to add more movement and traversal opportunities.” Those abilities apparently include a “unique double-jump ability to navigate tough terrain.”
Of course, we’re also getting land spears, which the team has already announced, marking the first time we’ve gotten a totally new weapon for land. “The two-handed spear will become available to all nine of the game’s professions.” Do note that the studio is planning an open beta to test out land spears from June 27th to 30th, and you don’t need to have preordered the expansion to try it out.
Finally, raid fans are getting their first formal raid content since 2019: “[A] new raid will play host to some of Janthir Wilds’ toughest encounters, challenging 10-player groups with epic boss battles; both the raid and its more difficult Challenge Mode will be added in a follow-up release.”
Preorders are already up; the expansion and full year of content is once again just $24.99. That base package includes a raft of cosmetics as well as a level 80 character boost and a shared inventory slot to hold it. As usual, there are also $50 and $75 packs that come with extra perks and gems.
And just as the cherry on top, ArenaNet casually announced at the end of its presser that GW2 is launching on the Epic Games Store “later this summer.”
